Self Preservation
by Le Pleiade
Summary: Voldemort wasn't alone in Albania. She was there, always. But in the end, some things must be preserved. OC/TRJ OC/VO M for later chapters.
1. Diaries and Chicken

The high winds came up from the sea as the little cottage shuddered. The rain tapped loudly against the thin windows. It had been a few years since Tom had graduated from Hogwarts now, with this little home on a cliff being his temporary dwelling. Well, his and hers. He brought along an old schoolmate who had not only matched his intelligence, but beat him in Charms. Go figure. Charms was really more of a woman's craft, Tom justified. Beyond that she was smart; she had an air of wisdom that he appreciated. She didn't lie to make him feel better, and she didn't judge him either.

Tom had shown up in her life in London, and threatened her to follow him to Albania. It took a long while, persuasion, and threats before she finally agreed. Being the future Dark Lord, he would not have tolerated that from anybody else, but, she was good company. She was not happy about it, naturally, having been removed from her ailing parents, but Tom felt he was doing all that he could to make her happy.

He was lying in bed, listening to the rain come down, and to her moving about the house. Soon enough, the smoky woody smell of the fireplace pierced the room, like an old comfort, like it had at Hogwarts. He smiled to himself before he began to smell the coffee. That is what he was waiting for, and she knew it. He found his way out of bed, putting on his old slippers and putting a sweater on over his shirt. With a quick glance of the mirror, he ran his fingers through his hair and made his way down the creaky wooden stairs.

Lillian, the woman he now lived with, was standing over a pot on the stove, stirring. "Breakfast is almost done." Tom made his cup of coffee and waited for Lillian to bring his breakfast. He hadn't sat long before she carried out two plates with two bowls following behind her. Eggs, bacon and a sort of rice pilaf, it was one of his favorites now, except for the times she feels like making pancakes. "I trust you slept well last night?" He asked her as she sipped on her coffee. "I did thank you, and yourself?" He agreed. They always woke up with the formalities. She moved her long raven hair from her deep blue eyes. Tom took note of what she was wearing, the long loose sweatpants and a more formfitting long sleeved thin shirt. He enjoyed watching her now, that she wasn't always wearing the heavier robes from school that hid her figure.

As always, his breakfast was savory, and the warmth of the fireplace filled the house as the storm outside broke the silence. She ate, his eyes on her, and read a book, eyes darting across the pages. "So, what do you plan on doing today?" He asked, trying to make light conversation. "Well, I was planning on tending to the animals, and making a roasted chicken for lunch." She looked up at Tom. "Unless of course, there is something else you'd rather have me do today, I'd be happy to oblige." Her plump pink lips smiled at him. "No, that would be sufficient. I plan on taking things easy today. Perhaps I'll go across the water to Italy." He mused looking through her. "If you do go, do you mind picking up a few things for me?" She looked at him as if she were going to start begging him soon. He loved the look, it turned him on. He thought, many times, of ways he could make her beg.

It didn't matter though, he couldn't say no to her. He could never bring himself to say no to her. If he could, she wouldn't have any of the animals that she kept outside. She wouldn't have the luxuries in her room, such as her own bathroom, all of her clothes, and thick fluffy blankets. She was able to have her wand even, following the Tirana incident. He took away her wand, but allowed her to go to the capital city so she could shop for some groceries.

Being Tom, he followed. He watched as she interacted with the men and women selling their goods, strolling through the long streets. Tom had fallen so far behind, he barely saw her get accosted by three men. He pushed through the crowd as best he could to get to her. Turning into the ally, he saw the two smaller ones holding her, though her head rolled unconsciously. The largest sat between her open knees with his dick firm in his hand, rubbing her thighs. They never even saw Tom before they screamed in pain. Red eyes met them as they met a barrage of curses. Tom couldn't stop himself, cursing their bodies even after they had drawn their last breaths. A slight groan stopped him, however. Bloody and bruised from her brief attack, he apparated back to their shack.

He tended to her as she lay in bed, held her closely when she woke up, and gave her a shoulder to cry on when she realized what had transpired. He was taken aback by his own reaction to her. That was one of the rare times they had shared a bed. She was perfectly nestled against his body. During the night, while she was slept, he stroked her hair, and her curvaceous sides. He even found himself landing kisses on her shoulders. In that moment, things were great. Well, almost everything, as morning found him alone in bed and breakfast on the table. He had allowed for her to have her wand, but forbade her from venturing from the house alone.

"Is there anything else you need while I am away?" He looked over the small list she gave him, pocketing the muggle money. "No, that should be all I will need for now." She smiled before clearing the dishes. Tom left her to her chores, and cleaned himself up for his trip. Before he left, he watched as she walked away from the chicken coop with a headless chicken in one hand, and a basket of eggs in the other. "Now, Lillian, remember, don't let anybody in, should they stumble across this place, and please do not wander far from the house." "I won't Tom, besides; I am going to try to be in making this chicken." She smiled at him, making his heart skip a beat.

Catania, on the island of Sicily had one of Tom's favorite open air markets. The temperatures were usually warm, and it was often sunny. Markets here were easier to get lost in. He enjoyed this, even though he was surrounded by muggles. They just minded their business and he minded his as he got the things Lily had asked for, and other things he thought she would like, or things he wanted her to use. Three hours had passed by the time he was ready to go home.

There she was, scrubbing the now plucked chicken in a bucket of water. "Back so soon? I thought you'd have been back around noon." She smiled at him. He figured it was only around ten or so. "Have you been out here the whole time?" Tom looked over in slight shock. "Yeah, but it's alright, that's what magic is for, right?" She laughed softly, walking past him into the house. Before she could reach her wand, Tom had dried her off, leaving her warm and dry.

"I am pretty sure I got everything you requested." He turned over the contents of his pockets onto the counter as she began to spice the chicken. Sprigs of rosemary and whole cloves of garlic went into the pot before she put it into the oven. After she put everything away, Tom stood in the entry. "I found something else for you as well." His hands were placed behind his back. "What's that? It's not going to bite me, is it?" She laughed jokingly. "We shall hope not." Tom replied, straight faced. Lily's face turned serious, as she stepped back from Tom.

From his pocket, he withdrew a little ball. Before she could question, a little head popped up to reveal a tiny tan kitten. "Oh Tom, It's so adorable! How cute!" She rushed up to him, scooping the kitten from him and instantly melting into pools of 'oh how adorable', and 'isn't he so cute.' There were always stray cats around the markets, and Tom had picked up that, perhaps a feline friend would be good for Lillian. She enjoyed her other pets so much, but, none of them were suitable for cuddling with at night. She at least seemed a lot happier for now.

Tom and Lily cleaned up and organized their house as the kitten explored. There was moderate conversation between their tasks, as she talked about London, and they discussed school. They settled down to read as lunch cooked. She had really enjoyed Tom's company in school, but here, things were different, and she made it known to her diary. She wrote of how, though she enjoyed being with him, it saddened her. She lay down in front of the fireplace and began to write in her diary again. Tom watched the kitten play with tendrils of hair that fell to the floor. The smell of the chicken filled his nose, making his mouth water at her culinary skills. She always made sure he was well fed, luckily for him. But even luckier, was that she could cook without needing magic for everything.

He remained lost, until he heard her deep rhythmic breathing. A small smile played across his lips as he watched her quill hover over the page. He had always been curious about what she wrote in her diary, but it would never open for him no matter what spell he used. Now was prime opportunity while she slept and the kitten napped in a bed of hair. He gingerly picked up the book and began reading.

_Today Tom went to Italy. It's nice to see him get away from his search, but, though I may sound selfish in this, I wish he would have taken me. I feel, I am many thing things to him, or that he wants me to be many things, but I can't be. He won't let me be. _

_I wish I could be home sometimes. There, I'd be able to find a husband. We would have everything Tom and I have now, but we would have a relationship to go with it. After all these years, I thought I would have gotten somewhere with Tom, but I supposed I'm meant just to clean house. Play the role of wife, only without the title, or the love. I've wanted him for so long; I've loved Tom for so long, of all the thoughts of mine that he can read I've suppressed those feelings. So deep, not even he can see them. But I almost lost it, those nights we share a bed. I lose it because that's what I've wanted for so long. That feeling of protection he provides, how he makes me feel safe. _

_Anyway, I suppose it could be worse. I could be in his attic right now being tortured, or I could be trapped in some horrible town without magic. At least I'm granted the luxuries and freedoms I have, and that he watched out for me. He even brought me home a kitten today! Perhaps he began to see how lonely I've been feeling lately. I'm happy for the kitten though, at least now I have a cuddle buddy every night! I don't know when I'll leave, or if I'll leave this place. I suppose it's at Tom's discretion. Not that I mind. He knows this area better than me. Well, I am making chicken for lunch today. It's been raining something fierce here, so I thought it would be a good idea, a nice cozy meal.'_

Tom laid her journal back down before going back to his own book. She stirred at his motions. Tom pondered. This was useful information, no doubt. He was close to finishing this quest and what then would he do with her? Kill her? Quite possibly. Leave her to live here? Maybe he would return her to her home, though that was unlikely. She was too much of a threat away from him. She moaned softly before he got up to tend to lunch.


	2. Waterballs and Suitors

By the time she woke up, Tom was sitting at the table, reading his book. "Oh, my, I am so sorry!" She scrambled to her feet. "It's quite alright. Are you hungry now?" He didn't bother to look at her as she sat down to the set table. It was a quiet meal for them, but Tom's mind was racing. He became conflicted. What does he do from here? After lunch was done, she went outside to enjoy the rain, and he went upstairs to plot.

Unfortunately, it was all too difficult for him to get his thoughts out. From the window, the woman that affected him so caught his attention. She danced along the cliff, carefree and happy. How is it she could stand to act so content when he was so miserable? She couldn't possibly enjoy being in this rink dink cottage. Oh, that's right Tom, she doesn't enjoy it here. No matter how much magic they used, it was still a shack. He sighed. She looked so beautiful out there. He felt himself jerk toward her like a spasm, catching him off guard. He shook his head, his hand on the window, and her below, dancing right over the edge.

"LILLIAN!" Tom yelled, quickly shooting spells, breaking the glass. With a racing heart he ran outside. She was lingering there, above the water encased in what looked to be a sparkling blue bubble. She twisted inside, looking up at him as he floated her back to the surface. Her face was against the walls of her prison, watching him. He watched her movements slow down before finally coming to a stop, in a beautiful sort of suspended animation. Tom plopped to the ground, allowing a tear to fall. He could not let her die now. She was too close. A moment passed before he waved his wand over her and the bubble was gone.

Gently, he helped her to the ground, the rain waking her up. "Tom, you're getting all wet." She smiled at him, reaching up to stroke his cheek. "I was content inside, but, you had to go fall off of a cliff. I'll have to put up a little gate for you I suppose." He tried hard to put up a front, but his voice betrayed him ever so slightly. "I fell?" She smiled, moving away from him. "How do you know I didn't jump? Or walk over it intentionally?" She smirked. "You love me too much to jump on your own accord. That's why" He sneered angrily at her. She gulped. "What would make you think that?" She tried to maintain her ground. "Your precious diary does." A wicked smirk came over him. Her expression of shock amused him. "You thought I hadn't read those entries about me? Your dreams and desires of me will never be true, Lillian, don't be so silly." He spat.

She crossed her arms, stunned, and slowly walked back into the house. Tom entered just in time to hear her bedroom door click, but he would not be bothered by her feminine emotions right now. He knew she was crying, but he couldn't be bothered by it. She couldn't like him. He refused to return those feelings. It was difficult, listening to her stifle her tears through the thin walls. Sometime in the night, however, he managed sleep. The blankets pulled up tightly around his chin, he reveled in the comfort of his bed.

As morning broke, Tom didn't wake up to the smells of fireplaces or breakfast and coffee. In fact, the house was silent. The constant roar of the sea echoed through the walls. "Lillian?" Normally her voice would sing back to him. "Lillian?" He was quickly bounding down the stairs now, throwing his shirt on over himself. There was no sign of life in the common areas of the house. Heart pounding, he slowly opened the door to her room. He looked around at the empty bed and bare shelves and a single piece of parchment on the desk.

'_Tom, I'm so sorry to have been so silly as to think you'd care anything for me. Sometimes those thoughts were all I had to keep me happy here. So far from home, my friends and family. Thank you for your attempts to make me happy, but I must now leave and find happiness that I won't find here. You'd find the diadem and the cup. You'll become immortal, if only for a moment. Your fate will be sealed by a half a story and life will begin again. Goodbye my friend.'_

Her gentle handwriting glistened on the page as his anger boiled. She knew his plan all along and never once told him. Tom swallowed. There was only one way she could have known, especially when his charms weren't set off. That day, he felt that all he could do was cry. Of course, that is if he could cry. Instead, he stared blankly at a wall that held no answers to the questions he was dying to figure out.

That day, Lillian spent the day revamping and cleaning the home her parents left for her. She hadn't known her parents died while she was gone, a pang of regret hitting her. She no longer had family to return to. Just a house elf, a house, and a kitten named Sicily. It was just as lonely as it had been on the coast, only without the homesickness.

Left with such an estate, and the wealth of her parents and grandparents, it did not take long for the suitors to start coming forth. It seemed that every other day a new man, family or messenger was there to dote upon her and find her favor for their own futures. Through the summer, she rejected man after man. She was whispered as the untouchable Lillian Calidonius. Luckily for her, the efforts slowed down in the fall as families sent their sons back to school, and she wouldn't have to hear from then. Though she had been amused by the efforts, she was tired of the tired men calling upon her. If it hadn't been that they were mostly sniffing for money and power, she would have probably settled with one of the men.

The snowfall was soon coming down. Lillian had spent most of the day shopping in Diagon Ally as she stumbled into the house. "Shelly! I'm home!" She called out to her house elf. The small elf met her, helping her with the packages as she stomped the snow out of her shoes. "Oh, Shelly, the house smells wonderful, what are you making?" The elf turned her head back. "I am making your favorite! Chicken noodle soup! Shelly knows you've been out in the cold, so Shelly thought perhaps you'd like some when you get home." She smiled and thanked her, running upstairs to get into comfortable clothes.

As they were sitting down to eat, the doorbell rang. Shelly moved to answer the door. "No, don't worry about it, sit and eat your soup, it looks good." She smiled at her as she ate. At the door stood a tall lean man bundled in a heavy jacket. "Yes, how may I help you sir?" She looked him over. "There is nothing you can do for me, but my master seeks your help. He is really weak." Behind him, another stocky man was helping a third man through the whipping snow. Lily opened up the door wider. "Bring him into the drawing room." She stood back, her hand on her wand as they laid him onto the couch. As they moved away, she finally caught a glimpse of his face.


	3. Preserve what one can

"Tom? Abby! I need you after all!" She called for her friend. "Take these men's coats, please." She stooped down next to Tom, as he muttered violently. "What happened to him?" She began to hastily dry his clothes. ""Abby, I need Boneheat, blankets and a dreamless sleep." She called to the elf again.

Tom was calming down after the potions were administered. "Now, tell me, what happened here?" The men looked at one another. "Speak, or you can both get out!" She yelled. No doubt he had dabbled in the wrong place, with the wrong thing, and the wrong tools. She stuck his hand up his shirt feeling how cold he still was. "Thank you Abby. I appreciate that. Perhaps these men would like something warm." She was not in the mood to argue with these men and try to drag information from them. Tom fell silently to sleep, holding onto her hand. "No, let's eat so you may tell me what happened."

The four sat at the table. Shelly was ready to dig into her bowl again when the taller man stopped her. "Do you mean to eat at the table with your master?" He growled at her. Shelly just snapped her fingers, sending him flying backwards in the chair. "Shelly is not enslaved. She is free, and is free to eat wherever she would like to, unlike you." Lily stared hard at the man who scooted his chair down and dug into his soup. They ate in silence, as she watched the men. After they had finished most of their soup, Lily struck,

"So, tell me, what happened." The short one spoke this time. "Well, Tom came to us, wanted the sword. He wanted to add it to his plans." The tall one nodded. "So, we found it, and brought it to him. It wasn't easy, seeing as Dumbledore n'all. He sighed. "When we get it to tom, he killed the third man with us, and casted a spell on the sword, but it backfired." They fell silent. "So, what does that have to do with me?" She turned her teacup in her hand. "He asked for you. He wanted us to bring him to you, so, here we are. He mumbled for your help, of course he mumbled many things between here and there." They all sat in silence. Lily pondered over and over as the men exchanged nervous glances. "Do you, perhaps, know what the spell was that he cast?" She drew up a quill and a length of parchment. "I don't know. He just kept muttering Owle Bullock though, if that's any help." She quickly wrote down the name, muttering it to herself. IT sounded familiar. She had seen that name before, many times. "Abby, I'll need you to find this name, and bring it back. Figure out what it means." She handed Shelly the paper as the elf disapparated.

Lily spent the next few days tending to Tom who had been moved to the bedroom next to hers for closer quarters. The other two men were back in their own homes, but visited him frequently. On the fourth day, Shelly returned with a large black tome. "Mistress, this is a most evil book! It was written by her!" She could not wait to be rid of the book as she thrust it onto Tom's bed and left. It was indeed evil, with power, dark magic, radiating from it. Lily picked up the book, showing it to tom, who was not sedated, but alert. He could respond in yes and no but only by shaking his head, or he could point if he wanted something.

"Tom, hey. I have something I need you to look at with me." His gaze lolled to her, but widened when he saw the book. "Is this what you wanted me to find?" He nodded slowly. She sat next to him showing him the pages. "Stop when you see what you're looking for." She spoke softly to him. They slowly flipped through the pages, some spells worse than the last. She was startled when he finally reached out for a page. "The Horcrux Borne; is this what you made?" He nodded. "Let me guess, you tried to make a Horcrux out of the sword of Gryffindor too?" Again, he nodded. "Alright then Tom, I'll help you. I'll do what I can to get you better." She smiled at him and left to her potions room.

She sat in her leather desk chair, as Shelly sat on the desk, dangling her little feet over the edge. She listened to the tapping of Shelly's heels hitting the drawers. "Shell, what enchantments do you think are on the sword of Gryffindor?" She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Well, it's made by the goblins. Naturally they say it takes in…" "That which makes it stronger. I don't think Tom would have been able to make that into a Horcrux if he wanted to." She tapped the tip of her thumb on the arm of the chair she was now slumping in. Potions were already forming in her mind,

Day and night, Lily and Shelly worked on multiple potions. Unfortunately, without knowing the exact incantations or spells on the sword, it was hard to determine what the side effects of each potion would be. That was quickly discovered as one potion gave him fish lips, three of them changed the color of his hair, and two others made him fall asleep before he even hit his pillow.

The snow soon began to melt, and the spring buds were peeking through when her latest concoction was finished. She had been awake for three days straight, drinking energy potions. This was a most complicated potion she did not task with anybody else but herself. A shimmering violet potion laced with red is exactly how it was to look. Dead on her feet, she shuffled to Tom's room, setting it down on his nightstand.

"Hey there trooper." She rubbed his arm gently. "I need you to drink some of this for me." She uncorked the vial and slowly emptied some of the content into his mouth. She watched as he swallowed, and sighed. "Shelly, make sure he takes a sip of this every two hours or so." She handed the vial to the form that just entered the room.

Worn out, she managed to find her own bed. Shelly continued to feed Tom the serum every two hours as Lily slept. Her dreams were frantic and restless as she tossed and turned wildly. Sometime during the day, as she slept, warm arms wrapped themselves around her, calming her down, and pulling her close. As she roused to reality, it struck her. "Tom!" She jumped up, frantically. "What are you doing in here?" Her eyes were scanning over the young man in her bed.

"It would seem as though your potion worked better than you thought it had. I've recovered enough to move around a bit so I came in here with you." He rolled onto his back and sighed. "Well, that's good. Your lackeys have been here almost daily checking in on you." She smiled at him rubbing her head. "I will hope they didn't try anything, did they?" She chuckled at him. "No, not this time, it would seem as though I was spared." Tom looked away from her. "Well, you are more than welcome to lie back down." He rubbed the now vacant spot beside him where she had been. "Well, only because I need a big cuddle." She grinned. She began to change out of the outfit she wore the previous night, replacing her pants with a thin pair of short shorts, and her sweater with a long tank top and finally crawled back into bed. "Have I ever told you, I enjoy cuddling with you?" He muttered as he pulled her in. She pressed her back into him as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Everything would have been perfect, had she not woken up in that dismal shack. Struggling against her bonds, she yelled for Tom. In the shadow, he moved towards her. "Tell me, you did not expect me to let you go? After you found out so much, that I'd let you just walk away?" He chuckled evilly. "No, my dear Lillian, I cannot allow that." He poured a glass of water from a silver pitcher.

"Tom, I don't care about your mission, it has nothing to do with me!" She cried, but he would not see reason. "It has EVERYTHING to do with you! A pureblood! What I do, it's for you, and it always has been! To rule the wizarding world, I'd be greater than Dumbledore and Grindlewald combined! Then, together, we could raise our own offspring in a pureblood and muggle free existence. All you have to do is join my ranks, as a death eater. Maybe soon, you could even be my lover. You could be the Dark Lady, and bask in what powers I give to you."

He was straddling her now, holding the goblet to her lips. "Don't worry, it's just water." He smiled, as she parted her lips slowly. She didn't swallow until she was sure it had no other funny tastes to it. After she swallowed, she eyed him. "What if I am to say no?" He gave her a sideways smile. "Then you are to stay as you are now." Disappointment clouded his face as he slid off of her. She could barely register what was happening, as she felt herself fading. "Wh-what did you… to… me…?" She barely managed to get out. "Just a little potion to relax you, is all." He scowled at her. Finally, she was gone. Nothing registered to her. All of her senses abandoning her, she lay there in the bed in the shack.

Tom undid the binds on her limp body, pulling her in, feeling her grow cold. "I could have loved you like a monster." He whispered to her, kissing her forehead. He grabbed her brush from her bedside, and began running it through her hair, telling her now of what his plans had been for her. When he thought she looks perfect, he laid her back down, arranging her like a doll, her hands folded over her diaphragm.

With a wave of his wand, black ribbons encased her, replacing her clothing. Her clothes turned black, and the fabric lengthened. She lost her straps to a sweetheart neckline, and was soon lying in a strapless black dress with a puffy skirt and a high waist. A veil fell to cover her face, and elbow length gloves graced her hands.

He stared at her; His perfect dark bride who will never be. As the sun set, glistening through the cracks, it reflected off of the tomb he was now encasing around her. Glassy crystal encased her, preserving her from time. He cast another clear diamond layer over this. So close he had come to having all of his dreams crumble around him over her. He could not bring himself to destroy her, but he couldn't have her leave him. He knelt down, placing a kiss on the crystal coffin, and leaving a rose at the bedside. Tom didn't look back as he tucked the diadem down into his pouch and walked out.

They say sometimes a gleaming comes from the point on the Albanian cliff, whenever the sun hits it just right.


	4. 50 Years of Dreaming

**D/C: I do not own, nor profit from any of J.K Rowling's characters or works.**

**A/N: Again, thank you to the first reviewer of my story, Loverofallthings. I appreciate your feedback, and welcome any other reviews as well. As for Loverofallthings, this chapter is for you. Thank you.**

50+ years later…

Lord Voldemort. That was the name he had now come to be known by. Almost nobody now knew who he used to be, either having passed away, or had their memories obliterated. He worked tirelessly to become the dark lord that was feared throughout Europe, and he liked it that way. Fueled by the past that drove him to this point, he saw his work unfold before him like a perfect work of art. The power he was denied as a child, he claimed full force as an adult.

He sat in the Malfoy study, poring over his plans when a knock came from the heavy oak door. "Come in, Bellatrix, what do you want?" He answered in a raspy tone. "My Lord, the sword of Gryffindor has been accounted for in my vault, as you asked." She stood in the doorway, looking somewhere between her feet, and his face. She almost feared looking into the twisted, abnormal features of her inspiration. Pale skin stretched over an evil face with green eyes that glared red when angry only fit with the slits he had for a nose, and thin lips. "Good, good. I am glad to know that." He waved her away.

He hated being interrupted. He was lost in his thoughts about the war. Dumbledore was dead, and death eaters were strategically placed throughout Hogwarts and the ministry. Severus Snape, one of his most trusted advisors, was now the headmaster, keeping an eye over the school. Other death eaters were there to recruit students to his cause. Of course, most of the Slytherin house was in his pocket, and a lot of the Ravenclaw house students as well. What he needed, unfortunately, were a few good Gryffindor students. They were loyal and true, through and through. The repercussion was, they could also be tied to the Order.

Voldemort chuckled at the thought of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's little armada to try and stop him from gaining power, was laughable. They had all been driven underground with minimal communication. With the snatchers now out looking for various witches and wizards, it would only be a matter of time before their order fully crumbles to dust and flies away in the wind.

His thoughts turned to Harry Potter. He received word that the Potter boy and his friends were not on the train to Hogwarts as they should have been. Severus also informed him that none of the three children had shown up to school. Voldemort chuckled. No doubt they are hiding. That was a good choice for them.

Only when the Full moon was high overhead, did Voldemort manage to find himself sleep. The quality of his sleep however, was tarnished. _'He walked over a fallen rotted log, rife with various fungi growing from it. The moon wasn't quite full, but it cast an eerie glow around him. The sky was spotted with purplish clouds that moved quick across the sky. He didn't hear anything around him except for the leaves overhead rustling. _

_Ahead, a small light glowed. It looked to be coming from what could have been a small hut or a cabin. Maybe it was just a small campfire. Then he could ask where he was. He had been here before, throughout the years. He had dreamt of this place many times, but this was the first time there was ever a light. _

_Unlike the Dark Lord, he timidly walked towards the light, wand in hand. As the woods broke, and thinned out, he could tell, this was most definitely not a house at all, but more like a pile of rubbish that used to be a house. _

_The roof covered the beams and siding like a protective blanket. The decrepit piled of wood around him suggested some sort of family home. Maybe a shed and an outhouse of some sort, or perhaps a smaller separate cabin had once been erected here. _

_Voldemort focused on the light emitting from the pile of wood. He held out his wand to moved away the piles, noticing his skin was plump, and full. His skin was warm again, as it once had been. He felt himself, his features, ran his fingers through his hair, and felt his heart beat frantically. Whatever devilry was here, was powerful. _

_He felt his skin grow hot as he began to remove the piles of refuse blocking the light. The more he uncovered the less he could see. It wasn't a dim, yellow light, but rather a blinding pure white light that overtook him. A thunderous crack broke the sound of his heavy breathing, and a shock wave threw him back. Voldemort could only watch the beam of light strike the sky as he fell.'_

"Fuck!" Voldemort woke with a start. He was sweaty and cold. The cold part didn't bother him too much, not as much as the sweatiness did anyways. He gasped for air, and threw back the stifling blankets. He hated that dream. It ridiculed him for years until now. He passed by that mushroom ridden log so many times, as he walked in circles. That was all he ever did in that dream, walk in circles. He never smelled the air, or felt the breeze, but tonight he had.

He stood naked in the window, letting the air fill his lungs. He felt his heart racing, as if he were still in that free-fall, something else that never happened. Voldemort shook his head. After an hour of reassuring himself, he laid back down, pulling the blankets up over him and laid down. This time, there was no dreaming. It was just dark, and silent, like death.

Just as the dawn broke over the horizon, Voldemort got out of bed. He never could find the will to sleep in any later these days, leaving himself few hours to sleep. He can sleep when he rules the world, he figured. Donning his usual black loose robes, he began to drink the coffee the house elf had knowingly left for him. He couldn't now remember where he came to enjoy coffee so much, but, he did, despite everyone else's love of tea.

Silence plagued the mansion as he walked down the dim corridor to his private study. He opened the door to begin his work, deciding what orders to give. It was a most intricate game of chess against fate, and he was determined to win. Everywhere, at every turn for the last six years it seemed that fate always had the upper hand, but he now controlled the board. The way he saw it, he had fate checked.

If it hadn't been for his keen eyes, or perhaps the way the light refracted, Voldemort would not have immediately noticed the shard of glass on his desk. Anger welled up in him. The death eaters knew good and well not to be in this room. He turned it over in his hands. It was clear and vibrant, refracting the light that shone from the sunrise into prisms. He ran his thumb over the sharp pointed tip, holding the perfectly smoothed top with the sharp edges.

"Wake up, you lazy sacks of shit!" Voldemort roared through the castle. "Get every single one of my death eaters up and in the drawing room, right now." He hissed at a passing house elf who looked scared out of her mind.

Voldemort waited impatiently at the head of the table as the sleepy servants trudged in to their respective spots. Some looked scared, others looked as though they were still asleep. As the last one sauntered in and sat down, Voldemort began. "Do you know why I have called you here so early this morning?" He looked around, agitated. None of the them had an answer.

"It would seem as though, my privacy, as your Lord, means nothing to someone here." He spoke dangerously. They all looked at one another with inquiries. "Does anybody want to claim this?" He placed the piece of glass on the table with a thud. Everybody glanced up at the clear object and then looked around. "No? Nobody wants to claim it?" He stood, pacing around the table. He could smell their miserable fear.

"It was left on my desk, but it was not there last night when I left. Do any of you know who put it on my desk?" Everybody glanced around. Bellatrix eyes betrayed her, as she glanced up at him, and then back down to McNair, who sat between her and Voldemort.

"Crucio!" Voldemort jabbed his wand into McNair's back, as the man flopped over the table, screaming and gurgling in pain. Voldemort held it, as he walked back to his seat. "Would anybody else like a dose?" He looked around at the heads that were bowed, parallel with the table. "Never, ever, are any of you to enter my study without permission. Is that CLEAR!" He boomed, stabbing the glass through the table. They all, even Voldemort, stare as a deep crack began to split the table down the center, fracturing the wood into two separate pieces.

Voldemort scoffed, looking once again at the object and took it with him back to his study. There, he placed it on his bookshelf, and pondered over it. It was the strangest thing that seemed to hum to him. He leaned back, and thought about this twist of events, perhaps he would have to keep his study under lock and key, but he had another idea.

"Bella, I want you to sleep for the day. You'll be on guard duty tonight, in my office. I want you to catch the intruder." He purred into Bellatrix's ear.

That night, Bella did just that. She sat in a chair, in the darkest corner, and waited.

By the time morning came, Bella was wide eyed, as she stared at the shimmering piece of glass that resided on the Lords desk. Just as large as the last one, and just as clear, it stood out on his desk like a plague. Her scared eyes looked around for a place to hide it. She couldn't tell her lord that she had failed him, and that an intruder got past her. Thinking quick, she reached out for it.

As soon as her hands made contact with the material, they burned. No, they didn't burn, they seared her palms. Voldemort was just approaching his study when he heard Bellatrix scream out in agony. As he entered, he saw her struggling to throw something with both of her hands.

"Please! My lord, please, help me!" She screamed in agony. Voldemort rushed to her, snatching the glowing object from her hand. Upon his touch, it died down, leaving him to turn his back on a trembling Bellatrix. "This is interesting…" He mused, placing it next to the piece from the yesterday. "Very interesting."

He stared at the two pieces for what seemed to be half of the day, halfhearted in his correspondences with the other death eaters. The messages he wasn't expecting to receive were the ones sitting right on his shelf.


	5. Snow White

**D/C: I do not own now profit from any of J.K. Rowling's works or characters**

Oddly enough, Bellatrix had still not recovered from her burns. Every salve and ointment that Severus managed to make only sizzled off of the blistered, boiled palms of the glass's victim.

"My lord, may I have a word with you?" Severus requested of the Dark Lord. "What is it you need, Severus? As you can see, I have been very busy."

"My lord, whatever it is that burned Ms. Lestrange, seems to be beyond my skill. It is not a typical dark magic. This is something that I have not seen before." He stood closer to Voldemorts desk, concerned. "Unless it plans to stop burning on its own, there is nothing to do to stop it."

Severus watched as Voldemort stood and placed his newest piece of glass on his now full shelf. "I have been getting these pieces every day, Severus. Many of my death eaters have touched these with the same burning effects. They cannot be moved by magic, only by hand. But Severus, only I can touch them here without injury."

Voldemort looked back at his servant, slightly egotistical and slightly concerned. "I don't know what to make of this, my lord." Severus sighed as he looked at each piece from a distance. "Have they tried dragon hide?" He shrugged at a loss for answers for the leader. "I will have McNair try that." He mused. "How do you suppose they have been getting in here, my lord?"

Voldemort looked past Severus. "That is what I wonder. My charms go unbroken, and my followers see nothing approach from outside or within the walls. It is, like a ghost." He mused. Severus nodded. "I would, however, like for you to oversee a project for me, as I lack confidence in some of my followers."

Voldemort swept by Severus to close the door all the way as they talked.

A strange girl sauntered down the street she barely recognized. Up the steps of a decaying old house, and through the door, she wandered into the dark. Half burned candles still littered the home. In a lonely room upstairs, she opened a window and looked out over the acres of overgrowth. She simply waved her hand at it. The room she stood in, also got a wave of her hand.

By the time she walked back to her vanity desk, the dirt and dust had disappeared, and the dank gray of age was replaced by vivid brilliance as if it had been freshly painted. A soft glow came from the candles that hovered around the room.

She looked deep into herself. It was like Snow White all over again. A story her mother read to her from a muggle folk tale. That was a long gone idea. Her parents had her late in life, and died not long after she graduated. As a matter of fact, everybody she went to school with was dead now, or they were very late in their life.

She chuckled at the thought. The hottest guys she studied with, now either decaying in the ground, or too old to even get it up if they tried. As the time went by, she came to embody her sexual appeal; something that was strictly forbidden in her time, or at least openly.

She looked at her old makeup. These things simply would not entirely do. Cold cream and crusted powders, not to mention the congealed foundation and dried mascara covered her desk. This was a mission for Diagon Ally. She made her way around as inconspicuously as possible. She did not feel comfortable with people looking around at her, thinking they may notice her.

She wasn't sure why, exactly, but just because most of her classmates were dead, it didn't mean they all were. The young woman quickly made her purchases and left back to her home. A long bath and deep scrubbing ensued. She scrubbed the dirt from her long hair, and felt as though she were peeling away the years of dirt and grime. The years of pain and heartache, everything that had been suffered in the magical world since her entombment, washed away.

A simple spell made quick work of the extra length of hair she was not used to. She made up her face and pulled her hair back into a simple bun with loose side swept bangs. She bypassed the lipstick in favor of a sheer pink gloss layered over chap stick. As she threw her wardrobe around, she came to a pair of pants and a shirt she would transfigure into a tight pair of slacks, and a matching vest jacket.

She admired herself in the mirror. The long train of her jacket brushed the ground, but cinched at her waist, and left the front open for more imagination. The long The long cuffed sleeves came down just past her wrists. The unobstructed front view slightly showed her midriff, showing her lean legs as her pants tucked into knee high leather boots with a small heel.

She nodded in approval at herself before leaving. She had business to handle.

Voldemort watched as Bellatrix slept, finally shielded from her singed hands through sedation. He was curious as to the powers of the stones now as he thought of them. They could prove to be a great weapon to him. Perhaps he could unlock a mystery within them and use it to aid him.

His library was stocked with any type of book you could imagine. Old books, new books, children's books, and books completely forgotten by time sat on the shelves. He had never come across such a strange thing in his studies of the dark arts. Perhaps these were darker than even he had ever dared to venture. Perhaps they were gifts? He ruled out that they were spying stones as they didn't even match what they looked like, nor did they carry any special magic markers that would indicate so.

Judging by the reaction of his followers, the must have been gifts for him. Special gifts, through some special magic, for him to use to aid his efforts, to tip the scaled in his favor even more. No book in the Malfoy library held clues as to the origins or properties of the glass, which only irritated him.

Loud clamoring was erupting from downstairs as he tried hard to focus on the page at hand. It became increasingly loud as he thought of some sort of wild party that erupted. As soon as he heard the screaming, he poised himself for an attack.

Swiftly, he exited the library, and into the middle of what looked like a complete and successful ambush. "What the hell happened here?" Voldemort looked at his death eaters strewn about the front foyer like toy soldiers. "She came in…" One managed to breathe before losing consciousness. Voldemort watched as a shadow ascended the stairs to his drawing room. With no way out from there, it'd be impossible for anybody to escape.

He felt of how useless his followers had to be, is the man indicated one, and yet ten were lifeless or near it on the ground. Correction, on the ground and stairs.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Voldemort sang out, as he quietly took each step. "Oh no, come in, come in. I know where you are." A soft voice replied right back to him. Arrogance seethed from the voice, as it chuckled at him. "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort took aim at the shape sitting at the end of the table.

A burst of light erupted, deflecting the spell, killing the man that whimpered at Voldemorts feet. Angry, he began firing spells at this intruder mindlessly. It was when he saw they were simply deflected like 1st year spells performed poorly, did he concede for the moment.

"What is it, that you have come here for?" He sat down at the head of the table, watching the figure from the other end. The light did not reach her face, as she tumbled a red orb back and forth in her hands like a trick. "It is not what, but rather, who." She spokes softly. It was a tone Voldemort reviled, but yearned for at the same time. "Then who, my dear, are you here for?" He didn't really care, he just wanted to hear her speak.

"Why, I'm here for you, of course." She leaned closer into the light, letting Voldemort see the apple she had been doing tricks with. "Who are you?" He finally questioned, curiously. "Do you remember Snow White?" The voice replied. He nodded. "Are you here with your dwarves as well? Is that what got you past my death eaters?" She simply chuckled, hurtling the apple towards Voldemort, causing it to smash while chipping the stone behind his head.

Voldemort stood angrily, as the woman stood, she rested her hands on the table. He finally looked into her face as she spat.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm not her."


	6. 50 Year Itch

**D/C: I do not own nor profit from any of J.K. Rowling's works.**

Silence fell over the table as they stared at one another. Their heavy breaths were the only things to break the silence as they eyed one another. He took in her strength and maturity, as she took in his evil stink.

"You have changed, Tom. My have you changed." She looked over his harsh features, remembering the way he once looked. Her lips tugged as the corners, but her eyes stayed hard. "You, my dear Lillian, have not changed at all." Voldemort waved his hand in front of him as if he were introducing someone.

"Oh, Tom, I've changed more than you think I have." She stood up straight, sauntering over to him. Voldemort watched her hips sway back and forth. They were fuller than he had remembered, not that he could remember seeing her hips without so much extra cloth on them. Perhaps he had, considering he was sure he had lain with her.

Lily sat on the edge of the table in front of him. "So, did you miss me, Tom?" She whispered, looking up and down his face. "I do not resign myself to silly little things such as missing and loving people, you insolent girl." He hissed back at her, but he took a deep breath, basking in her scent as she held her head so close to his chest.

"I had thought you'd say that." She sighed, looking right into his eyes. He focused on her, and she on him. They sat like that for moments, until finally her breath hitched. She began to pull away from him as he tried to dig through her memories. "Oh, no, Tom, please don't, not my memories…" She started to cry out before rounding her voice to a cackle.

"Forget it Tom, you will never be able to read my memories." She laughed, leaning back, her hands resting on his chest. She was right. All he saw when he penetrated her mind was blinding light. Without a second thought, Voldemort wrapped his hands around her neck. She choked and sputtered momentarily under his pressure. "Does that feel good?" He taunted her, placing himself between her thighs.

Lily reached up to push his face away as a series of memories flooded through her mind. Memories of Hogwarts and of the professors passed through her mind. She could see everything over the last 50 years like a movie. She felt a sharp jolt, pulling her from the memories, and came to her senses that Voldemort was still pinning her down.

She turned her wrists under his forceful grip, and looked at him. He loomed over her almost maniacally, as he contemplated what to do with her. The more she watched him, she more she liked watching him, and the more attractive he became in that particular position. Slowly, she closed her thighs around his waist. Voldemorts breath hitched, as he felt her close around him.

"Stop that." He tightened his grip on her wrists, but she didn't care. She locked her ankles behind his hips and pulled him into her. Slowly, he found himself leaning into her, their chests touching, as she slipped from his grasp. He moaned lightly as her fingertips trailed across his bald head, and her nails gently raking down the back of his neck. "We can't do this Lillian." He moaned into her neck.

Before he could take back his words, he was stumbling back, snapping out of his stupor as he caught himself. "Alright then, Tom, we won't." She smirked at him and walked began towards the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?" He followed her. "I'm off to find my room Tom. What do you think I'm doing?" He watched in disbelief as her coat swayed behind her.

Anger welled up in him once again, and he found himself aiming a curse right at her. She didn't even flinch as the cruciatus curse deflected from her. Tom was now screaming in pain, reeling on the ground as he couldn't remove his own spell. "Now now Tom, why would you do that to yourself?" She turned back to him and took his wand from his hand lifting the curse. "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to get me Tom." She cooed at the quickly recovering Dark Lord.

Tom followed silently as she looked through every room. Every room had something wrong with it. Some were too small, others were too dark, and others didn't have the right view. "What are you looking for?" Voldemort finally growled at her after she disregarded the eleventh room.

"Well, something homey, but not too dull, nothing too small, but I don't want to feel like I'm sleeping in a ballroom. I want something that is bright, but not too bright, but I don't want it really dark either. Plush, but not too plush, but I don't want it too bare either…" Her voice trailed off as she walked further down the hall. "So… You want an average room?" He looked at her. She stopped, her hands clasping a door handle, as she looked at him shocked. "No, I don't. Were you not listening to what I was saying?" She looked away, as if she was hurt and threw open the door.

Voldemort glared. "You can wipe that shit eating grin off of your face right now. There is no way you are getting this room." He stormed towards her to push the doors shut, but she already ran into the room. He looked at her with frustration as she jumped on his bed. "But, Tom, please? I like this room! It's perfect! Look, someone else likes this room too!" She cast a glance down at Toms feet.

Circling his former owners legs, was a small cat. "What, you brought your pet with you too?" He sneered at the feline. "Not just any pet. That is Sicily, the very kitten you gave me." She looked at him smugly as she got off the bed. Clicking her tongue, Sicily ran to her, letting her scoop him up. "He has been my only companion over the last 50 years." She cuddled into him as she sat on the bed.

Voldemort shook his head, and turned away, leaving her there. "Lucius, if you do not have these decaying carcasses of cretins removed, then you will be among the pile!" He yelled as Lucius passed by him in the halls. The follower jumped and ran to assist in the cleanup that was now taking place. The Lord didn't really care WHO cleaned up the mess, he just needed to assert his dominance.

There were several death eaters gathered in the library where Voldemort had been earlier. That was very unusual, as most of them stayed clear of the books that the walls harbored. "My Lord, is everything alright? We heard what seemed to be a struggle. We came here to await your orders." Goyle stepped forward, curious and worried.

Without warning, Voldemort struck him with the cruciatus curse. This time, he just held it. He didn't budge until Goyle was reduced to a shivering fat mass. "Why were you not there?" He aimed his wand at another death eater, inflicting the same curse. "You will not run from the fight!" He yelled out to the others. "You will not follow me, if you choose to run." He grabbed the man by the hair, pulling his wand across his throat, leaving a dark line where his blood was spilling. The man gurgled with blank eyes as his body hit the ground.

"Leave. All of you, be gone for the day, I do not want to see any of you until tomorrow morning." He turned away from the group with disgust.

Once silence fell over the house again, was he able to think clearly. His robes billowed around him as he stalked to his study. The door was cracked, but, he shouldn't have been surprised to see Lily sitting in his chair with her feet on his desk reading a book. He roughly grabbed her feet and threw them off of his desk. "What are you doing in here?" He breathed.

"Well, I was looking for something to do, and I saw your little collection shining in here." She didn't even look up from her book as she replaced her feet on his desk. Tom didn't notice as he looked over his empty bookshelf. "Where are they?" He hissed.

The way his back hunched over as he threatened to jump over the desk at her, reminded her of a shifting werewolf. He snarled, as his nails scratched the wood. "Don't worry, Tom, they are safe." He shook in anger. "They were not yours to take." His voice dripped with poison. She leaned forward, eye level with him. "No, Tom, they were not yours to keep."

Voldemort threw the desk against the wall. "It's Lord Voldemort! NEVER call me Tom again, NEVER!" He screamed at her. She sat cross legged, facing him as he paced back and forth like a ferocious beast. Nobody had ever gotten under his skin so badly. Not even that potter boy that kept eluding his own death. She seemed so relaxed and placid, while he raged.

Voldemort stewed in his mind. There was nothing that caught her off guard it seemed. There was nothing that seemed to make her angry. He stared at her as he paced. She continued with her book as he boiled like overdone turkey soup, content with her spot. She was fully aware that he had his eyes on her as she turned a crisp page.

This transaction continued for about fifteen minutes before she got bored. "Well, I suppose if there is nothing left to be said, then I will go back to my room." She stood and brushed past him. He snatched her arm and twirled her back into him. "No, that is not your room, it is mine." He growled at her. She cocked her eyebrow. "Okay." She said with a weak smile, obviously not giving up her new room.

Voldemort stepped closer to her. For every step he took towards he, she took a step back until she was against a wall. "You, are pushing every last button I have." He growled into her ear. "But, Tom, you act as though that bothers you." She smirked. He slammed his hands on either side of her head, leaving holes in the walls. "Tom Riddle is dead! You'd to well to remember that." He hissed at her, his eyes wide in anger.

"I love when you stare at me." She whispered at him, slowly looking up to meet his eyes. That was all it took to catch her off guard.

He pulled her into him, pulling her head back to look at him fully, and pressed his lips against hers. Her lips weren't warm, they were hot. They stung at his lips like thousands of microscopic bees, but he didn't care. She angered him and he liked it to a degree. He finally pulled away slowly. "Now, get out." She slipped under his arm as he didn't move. "Is that what this is all about?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Jeez, all you had to do was ask." With that, he was alone again.


	7. Fighting for What?

D/C: I do not own nor profit from any of J.K. Rowling's characters.

The days got shorter, and so did Voldemorts patience it seemed. His followers were getting hexed more frequently. Some were thrown into the dungeons for even the slightest failures. Others were caged for not answering the Dark Lord right away, or for not having the answers he sought.

Bellatrix was finally well enough to return to her duties, but she stayed far from his study. At least one good thing came of this. Voldemort paced his study with a book splayed across his open palm. "'Charms of Old' that is quite an odd book." A voice spoke from the doorway. He turned his head slightly to see her leaning against the frame.

"Yes, it is also a very interesting one." He muttered, not amused with her presence. "What are you looking for?" She looked at her fingernails. "Don't worry about that." He didn't even bother casting a look her.

Her footsteps reverberated softly back down the hall as he sighed. He had been made to share his room with her and his headquarters with her. She came and went about the house as she pleased. He was less than happy with her. Even though he shared a kiss with her, it meant nothing. Nothing compared to how he felt about her.

Loathe was a good word to describe it as. Like an infestation of some sort, that you couldn't get rid of. Now that he had seen her, his concentration was broken. She always did that to him to bother him. He knew it. He was sure of it. The book snapped shut and landed on his desk with a heavy thud.

Voldemort wasn't the only person to notice when she bothered him. Bellatrix would always catch glimpses of her passing through the halls towards the study. She did her best to listen to their conversations and arguments, hoping to catch useful information. As Lily passed by, she saw Bellatrix struggling to act as though she had not heard the previous transaction.

Lily scoffed at the attempt and proceeded to walk on. "How DARE you scoff at me like I'm trash!" Bellatrix screamed. She always had a bad temper. Lily stopped and looked over her shoulder. "_Like _you're trash?" She scoffed again and turned back, shaking her head in amused disbelief. Bellatrix withdrew her wand as Lily turned to fully face her. "Oh, honey, if you want to play, we can forget about magic." Lily shrugged, setting her wand on a decorative table.

Bellatrix threw her wand down and charged at Lily. She speared Lily at the gut, throwing them both back. Bellatrix sat on Lily, throwing blow after blow down to her face. She was so engrossed; she lost her balance as Lily threw her hips up, pitching Bellatrix forward. With her sprawled out, Lily took advantage of the situation, wrapping her arm around her opponents neck, squeezing. Bella scratched at Lily's arms, as she was stretched backwards.

Lily was tired of this. She stood up, and grabbed two handfuls of Bella's hair. A strange power surged through Lily as she threw Bella around like a ragdoll. Blinded by the pain of 50 years, dragged her nails down Bellatrix' bare back. It was like a cat, dragging its nails down the back of a leather couch.

Voldemort heard the scuffle breaking out somewhere down the hall. He stalked down the hall quickly, not wanting to draw too much attention to his urgency. As the noises got louder, he rounded a corner and stopped. Lily crouched on the ground over Bellatrix, in a pool of blood. He watched as Lily mindlessly tore the flesh from her back in fury.

"What are you doing?" Voldemort wrapped his arms around Lily, tearing her away from Bella's near dead body. "Crabbe, fix up Bellatrix, and for god sakes, if this gets out, you'll look just like her." He threatened, trying to hold onto the squirming Lily.

Lily had not stopped scratching at anything and everything she could get her hands on. She scratched Voldemorts arms a few good times before turning on herself. By the time Voldemort threw her to the floor of their shared bedroom, she had left deep gashes on her legs and chest. "What is wrong with you?" He whispered to himself, as he watched her.

As night fell, she had not recovered. She was still mindlessly scratching the flesh that Voldemort was healing. By eleven, she began screaming. Voldemort watched as her tears streamed down her face. Her eyes glistened, and her tears shone like diamonds.

"Lily, why are you crying?" He moved down on the floor next to her. She didn't respond. Actually, she hadn't seemed to even acknowledge his presence ever since it started. He sighed. He would sleep, if she weren't causing such a ruckus. Luckily, the silencing charm worked well enough, but if he left, she would bleed to death from her scratches.

He took to reading a book as Lily cried on the floor. The aged pages of '_Charms of Olde'_ made little sound as he flipped through. Of course, charms weren't his forte. As he always thought, it was more of a woman's craft, but he could sometimes find a good charm that would work well for him. The more he read, the heavier his eyes became. No matter how hard he tried, he found he could just no longer keep them open as he succumbed to sleep.

"My lord?" Bellatrix's voice split the air as he snapped his eyes open. Voldemort quickly sat up, not knowing exactly how late he had slept in. He looked upon Bella, as she bit her lip nervously. "Was there a purpose to this intrusion, Bella?" He stared at the woman whose eyes were fixated on the woman lying next to him. He moved to block her view. "They are ready, my Lord." She quickly took a step back, but not before shooting one more venomous glare at her new nemesis.

As she left, Voldemort looked back at Lily. It seemed as though she were in the middle of a deep sleep. He felt a small smile pull across his face, as she laid an arm across Sicily, who was stretched out as far as he could reach. Her face was illuminated by the fiery October sunrise that streamed in through the window. "Wake up, Lillian, for a new day waits." He whispered to her. "No, just a few more minutes." She mumbled, as she rubbed her face into the top of Sicily's head. The cat purred, as Voldemort shook his head and walked away.

Voldemort sat with his death eaters, looking attentive but feeling bored. Pius was talking about the new anti-muggle material that was being produced and distributed, after a lengthy discussion about the roundup of mudbloods employed by the ministry. Nagini wandered between the nervous feet of death eaters as they talked.

"What is being done, to find Harry Potter?" Voldemort finally broke into Pius' lecture. He stuttered as he thought. "Well, my Lord, his face is on the cover of every paper and magazine. He is the Undesirable #1. Pretty soon, people will be flooding in to give up the whereabouts of the boy. That is our plan." He nervously scratched his finger with his thumbnail waiting for a response. "We need something else. We need a way to find the boy." He looked around the table.

Bellatrix excitedly leaned forward, looking into the disappointed face of her master. "We could, my Lord, track his apparitions. They do that with criminals on probation from Azkaban." She pouted her lips out at Voldemort. "Good idea, if it would work." A voice cut the air, resonating from the corner. Bellatrix's pout turned into a sneer as Lily stepped from the corner.

All eyes were on her, and rightly so. She wore her knee high boots, but the layered black skirt she wore left much to the imagination. Her vest-front jacket was black with red pinstripes, and her sleeves ended in laced ruffles. Today, her ponytail was set low, as it sat, lightly curled over her right shoulder, pointing to her ample cleavage.

"In order for that to work, you need the boy to cast the charm on. That brings us back to the initial problem." Lily focused on the green apple she held in her hand. "What about summoning him? Why hasn't anybody thought of that?" Avery spoke up this time. "Because, summoning a human is not the same as summoning an inanimate object. Once again, you have to be close enough to them in order for it to work properly." Lily walked slowly around the table, rolling the apple around in her hands like a trick ball. (A/N: Think the Goblin King in the Labyrinth.)

"We could curse his name!" Narcissa Malfoy perked up excitedly. "That is true, but then you are faced with the daunting task of following up on every person that says the name Harry. Besides, the spell isn't smart enough to determine the name Harry, from a statement in regards to something that is hairy, or covered in hair." She passed by Avery. "However, we can charm someone else's name."

She smirked as she looked into the eyes of Voldemort. Her red lips pulled into a smirk. "The wizard world is afraid to think about Voldemort, let alone say his name. Harry, and those in the order, is willing to say his name, and repeat it. That would give us a good start. That is what we should play on." She paused. "I've got something she can play on." Knott muttered to some of the men around him, who chuckled nervously in response. A red jolt of light hit him in the chest, throwing him out of his chair.

Lily walked back to Voldemorts chair. "That is a brilliant idea." He spoke. Lily just smiled at him. "I know. I'm the one that came up with it." She left him and his other followers in the drawing room as she went off to find a quiet place to sit. She found her best option to not be disturbed would be on her balcony. From there she could see the expansive garden that the Malfoy family kept up.

She barely remembered her episode from the night before, but she felt the pain. Her heart sped up as she thought of it. The need to release the pain that drives the episodes was crucial. When she tried to suppress it, shortly after she arrived to the manor, she passed out for hours. Of course, it was on a couch, and she was sure Tom had left her there to be rid of her during her nap, but she learned that she still felt the physical pain in her episodes, but this time, inflicting some of it on someone else, helped to lessen her own. It was not something she would have felt good about, had she not already seen the horrors Bellatrix had committed.

Lily always thought it was one thing, to take a life away. To her, it happened, and we all died sometime. It was another, to destroy a life one must live. The image she had in her mind of the empty eyes of Frank and Alive Longbottom reverberated in her mind. What was their quality of life, to be a living ghost? Lily shuddered to think about that. She spent the last chunk of her life being just that. A living ghost, where nobody knew her, or saw her, but she still existed, flesh and blood none the less.

She was interrupted by Voldemort sitting beside her. "You seem to be better than you were last night." He looked out at the yard. "Yes, I am a lot better. Thank you." She smiled weakly at him. It was the smile that he remembered. Their silence was broken by Tom. "Were you going to tell me what happened?" He waited. "It was the crystals." She sniffed.

"The crystals you took from my study?" He crossed his arms, still angry about that. "No. It was the crystals that I sent to you." She crossed her legs, "When you encased me in crystal, back in Albania, Tom, you did more than you think." She sighed. "The great gift you gave me, came with, great, almost unendurable pain." Voldemort cocked his head to the side, interested.

"You read your scripts wrong, when you deciphered that spell. That spell was used back in olden times to channel magic into an inanimate item, but now, we enchant the item directly, so we don't use that spell. The spell was meant to encase an item in crystal, and be left for a day, where it would become magical, because the crystal would channel the magic into the item. It was never done on a human before." She looked up at him.

"When you did that to me, for 50 years, I grew stronger in my magic, and I absorbed that energy. The crystal allowed me to absorb magic from witches and wizards. But it wasn't just pain and magic, it was knowledge as well." She sighed. "That's why I was such a mess last night." She stood and turned away from him.

Voldemort thought to grab her hand, but thought against it. She would probably shock him or throw him back into oblivion if he did. However, what she said definitely intrigued him. He had suppressed nearly every single memory he had of Albania, except for actually finding the diadem, but the memories had come back to him slowly but surely.

"Lillian, you should not have come back here." Voldemort stared at her. She let her hair out of its ponytail and ran her fingers through it. "Because you wanted me to be with you then, so why should it have changed?" She faced him, the wind tossing her hair about. "Because I am not the same person and neither are you. This is not a place for you, Lillian. You should go." She sighed, and walked to the door, kneeling down to pick up Sicily. "All you had to do was ask." She whispered back to him, and with that she was gone in a flash of white light.


	8. I Need a Hero

Lily was nothing more than a whisper amongst the Malfoy manor. One day, she was there, and the next day, there wasn't a trace of her to be found. There were different theories passed along in secrecy as to what could have happened to her. Some people suggested their Lord had killed her, or imprisoned her somewhere. Others believed she was being held as a personal sex slave. Of course, Bellatrix insisted that Lily couldn't handle being in the same home as her anymore.

The house was colder now, as winter came early and the snow began to fall. What little light that woman managed to bring to the dark home had been lifted with her disappearance.

Voldemort felt alone more than ever, as Nagini was posted in Godrics Hollow. He had spoken with Lillian before she left about where Harry might be. She had suggested that Harry would feel that place would be significant to the outcome of the battle. Nagini was sent out in the disguise of Bathilda Bagshot, a noted historian.

His followers were on their usual routines these days, having been squared away in the fall, leaving the home quiet. Bellatrix had crawled into his bed that night, begging for his touch, but he could not bring himself to indulge her.

It wasn't there for him, as he laid there under her. He watched her large pale breasts heave against his face, feeling her nipples rub against his chin. She greedily drove her hips into his, as his manhood felt the crevice of her apex. Still, as wet as Bellatrix was for him, he was not interested in her that night, as it had been every night she tried to seduce him.

He almost felt sorry for her husband, wondering if she paid as much attention to his needs, as she did to his own. After she finally realized that would not be the night, she resigned herself to just lying next to him and fell asleep with his back to her.

This was how it had been since Lily left. He felt a hitch in his plans as none of his followers could come up with reasonable ideas.

He walked into the drawing room, facing another ministry update. Pius was at one end of the table, waiting nervously, as the others sat and chatted amongst themselves. Pius had every right to be nervous, as did Yaxley. After letting Harry Potter escape, when he had so willingly walked into the ministry, they had not been on his good side.

He sat down, waving his followers on with their conversations. He was not quite ready to start. "No, I'm sure it was her, she had the jacket and everything." He heard Narcissa say. "Lucius and I wanted to stop her, but she disappeared. No, she didn't apparate, because she didn't make a noise. She just, vanished." She had been speaking to Bellatrix, who looked sorely disappointed.

"I guess she has been seen with that, Lovegood guy. Xenophelius, yeah, what an odd one, but she has been seen meeting with him. They had coffee not too long ago. That wasn't too long after she spent time with Fletcher. Dung, what a creep, I'll tell you, he tried to sell me an ugly necklace on day. It was this ugly yellow locket, like a pentagon shape. Who would wear such an ugly thing? But, I guess that Umbridge liked it, so he sold it to her in exchange for letting him go."

Voldemort had honed in on their conversation. So, Lily was meandering with the likes of that filth over him? He scoffed at the idea that it really was her, but something wondered, what if? Their meeting had been just as fruitless as the last ones had been. They hired more snatchers, fired more ministry mudbloods, and have still not caught Potter. It seemed that Lily's plan of cursing Voldemorts name also had eluded success.

He was beyond frustrated as the meeting ended. The one thing that meant the most to the cause was the one thing his death eaters were incapable of procuring. With an angry sigh left the Malfoy manor in search of relaxation.

The Caledonian residence was far grander than it had been in previous years. The acreage was well tended, and the home glowed with a regal appearance. The large fountain that sat in the middle of the turnabout driveway reflected small dolphins playing. A vast array of rosebushes adorned the walkways, and lined the property, leaving their passionate fragrance in the air.

Without a knock, he strolled into the home. The interior was much more luxurious than it had been. The colors of the 1940's gave way to a stately semi-Victorian look. In every room, dark wood floors were polished to a matte shine, and the lighting accentuated the colors that poured from the walls. Some rooms were Crimson and cream, while others were a bold green and cream. He passed by a royal blue room with gold accents, noticing the indoor pool that had been put in.

The house had recently undergone a major remodel, he could tell. It looked nothing like he remembered it to be. Voices resounded from the front of the house, as he walked back under the stairs in the grand main entrance. He listened as they descended the stairs. Long glistening blonde hair caught his eye as he felt betrayal overcome him.

"I am very glad we were able to work out a deal. I do hope you enjoyed your payment." He watched as she pulled her cloak tighter around her body. "It was, a marvelous time. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, then, we could always make it a, regular thing. Even though I consider myself married, it's a lonely life…" The man lingered. "I think we can work something out." He watched her smile at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

A frenzied heat raged in Voldemorts body. He couldn't watch him leave a kiss on her cheek before leaving. The things that man did to his Lily made his blood boil.

"Is that how you have managed to fund your remodel?" Voldemort spoke, glued to his spot. She jumped, caught off guard at his intrusion. Shaking her head, she walked back upstairs.

Voldemort was quick to follow. "I cannot believe you had the nerve to do that with that man. What would Narcissa say if she knew?" He stopped in her doorway, noticing her bed was perfectly made. "At least you made the bed before he left." She looked at him with a slightly shocked face. "Who said we did anything in here?"

"What did you do with Malfoy, Lillian?" Voldemort boomed. She jumped nervously. "Malfoy, what makes you think I did anything with him?" She shook her head. "I just saw the man leave, now don't play dumb with me." She scoffed. "No, don't play dumb with ME Tom. That wasn't Malfoy that was Xenophelius Lovegood." She chuckled.

"Well, that's no better, now is it?" He had walked dangerously close to her. "What is he doing to receive your favors? Perhaps I may need them as well." He looked her over. Her hair was loose, hanging down her back with small braids connecting across the top.

"Wow, really Tom?" She sighed. "Whatever you are thinking needs to stop, seriously." She threw back her cloak to reveal a short green and purple dress. It looked as though the dyes had been smeared into one another, but it blended perfectly. "I don't have time for games Lily, what did you do with him? What are you paying him for?" His voice was poisonous as she sat on her bed.

"I asked him to do some research on my family. I never really got to know them, and hoped that he could find something out for me. I offered him galleons, but, he wanted something else." Voldemort took her hands. "You know, there are writers at the daily prophet who would have taken money over sex." He comforted her.

"What, you think I had sex with Lovegood? Are you crazy? I mean, really, did you recently suffer a traumatic brain injury?" She jumped up defensively. "Well, what do you expect me to believe? If a man doesn't want money from a woman like you, they want sex." He defended his stance.

"Well, just because they want it, it doesn't mean I'll give it to them. You should know all about that, Tom. If it makes you feel better, I agreed to accompany him to more festivals. Today, we went to the Flight of the Faeries festival. Ever since his wife died, he hasn't had anybody to really go with."

Voldemort stood rooted in his spot, feeling smacked into place. She turned away from him, hurt at his accusation. "I apologize, Lily, if I offended you." He spoke quietly. "I'm sure, Tom. I think you might like to know, that after all of these years, I've saved myself. I thought that you and I would have clicked in Albania, but, we never did. Now, here I am, still waiting, and for what?"

She stood up, chuckling. "For what Tom, am I really waiting for? There are a plethora of men out there waiting for me to just wave my white flag, give up my chastity, and show me what I've missed out on, but I'm holding out." She laughed softly to herself, leaning against the window, watching the snow fall gently. "I'm holding out for a hero Tom, in a story where there are none."

Voldemort straightened the tie on his suit before walking towards her. His hands found their way around her waist, as she leaned into him for comfort. He felt her anger rising like a gust of wind, but he stayed and stroked her hair. "I've waited as well." He whispered to her. Voldemort wouldn't wait anymore however. He looked down at her, as she looked up to him, and kissed her.


	9. Mean Ol' Wizards

**D/C: I do not own or profit from the use of J.K. Rowlings works and/or chartacters.**

**Please feel free to review, it will help to better shape myself as a writer. **

**Enjoy this chapter of Self Preservation.**

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><p>Voldemort pulled Lily into him, deepening the kiss. It was a bliss he was only happy to indulge himself in.<p>

He felt her lips tasted more exquisite than he could have imagined them to in this moment. His hands roamed her sides, as she moaned into his lips. "Tom, don't take such pity on me. It is cruel." She tilted her head back to allow his lips better access.

"I do not pity, Lillian. I could never be your hero, you know this." He groaned into her neck, casting his breath sparsley over her ear. "I do this, because I have wanted to take your body, for a long time, not because I wish to be some sort of hero to you." He looked into her eyes, as he pulled away. He moaned, placing kisses down Lillians arms, across her fingers.

Lily, cupped his face gingerly, looking into his eyes before closing the gap again. With a quick motion, Voldemort scooped down, bringing Lily up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She held him closely, as his hands massaged her round bottom.

"Do you wish now, to proceed?" He asked gruffly, pulling her hair back gently. She gulped before nodding. His lips came crashing down into her neck, gently scraping at the skin, her back arching into him as a rush of sensations shot through her spine.

"Tom! Oh, gosh, that-" She was unable to finish her sentance, almost paralyzed in ecstasy to continue. She squeezed her eyes tight, feeling that sensation rush to her nipples, and down through her hips. Voldemort pulled back, dropping her back down to the floor. She looked at him confused, before watching him remove a scarf from her wardrobe.

"You aren't afraid of the big bad wizard, are you?" He asked, in a mocking tone. She just shook her head, unwilling to be taunted by his statements. "Oh, but, big bad wizard, surely you'll see I'm just a helpless girl." She slathered on the sugar, returning his tone. "I fear everything, especially big bad wizards." Lily swooned, falling onto her bed.

"But, perhaps, the mean ol' wizard, will be willing to make an exception, and spare little ol'e me" She sat back up on her knees, spreading them apart, as Voldemort watched her panties curve from under her hiked up dress. "I think, there may be an exception to every rule." He smirked wildly at her, as she grinned.

Before he could make it to the bed, she was up and running on the other side. "Oh, you don't want to run from me, little one." Lily laughed heartily. "I will make you catch me before you take me." She spoke defiantly. He gripped the fluffy blankets of her bed. "If I catch you, you will beg before the end." He reared back, whipping the scarf out, but she dodged it.

"Ah ah, Tom, that's no way to catch me. Besides, perhaps if you ask me nicely, I'll give you a head start." She smiled sweetly. Voldemort would have nothing of it. He jumped across the bed, reaching out for any bit of clothing he could grasp onto, being the ends of her dress.

Like a roll of paper, her dress ripped from her body as she struggled to get free. "Mmm, well, how delectable." Voldemort smirked, laying on his back where he landed. He took in the sight of Lily, who now wore a strapless bra and panties.

"Hmph." She crossed her arms and sniffed dramatically. "Lily, will you please be still." Voldemort choked out. He got to his feet, and walked slowly towards her, making sure she would not flee from him. He reached out, rubbing her arms gently, before pulling her in for a kiss. With a smirk, he pulled back.

"Hey!" Lily cried, as she held up her hands, bound by the scarf. She struggled against it, but felt it tighten against her wrists. "For shame, Lily. Now, you will beg for what mercy I may possess." He arched his eyebrows at her.

Roughly, he dragged her to the bed, throwing her down on her back. "Tom, I was only teasing you." she spoke, a hint of worry in her voice. "Well, this is no longer a game, now is it?" He ran his lips across her chest, as her bound wrists rested on the back of his neck. "What a nuisance these are." He rubbed her wrists gingerly before placing them over her head.

With an angry thrust, she looked up to find his wand embedded through the scarf and into her headboard. Though she tried to pull the scarf over the wand, she found it to be caught by the fangs at the wands handle. "Tom, please, don't be too rough with me." She bit her lip nervously, as he grinned maniacally.

His fingers slowly stroked her panties, as he watched her reaction. Her back arched, as she turned her head, breathing heavier. Gently, he allowed for a finger to slip under the fabric, brushing against her sensitive bundle. "Oh, Tom..." She gasped, as he lubricated his finger.

He teasingly played with her entrance, as she rolled her hips. "You are, so desirably wet..." He mused, looking at the pleasure in her face. He slowly lowered his lips to her panties, kissing and sucking at her sensitive mound. He nipped at the cloth, tugging it gently, sensually trying to allow his tongue underneath.

Just as his finger did, his tongue slipped under the fabric, tasting her. Her sharp gasp and buck of her hips was his only response. He grinned agianst the mound of flesh in his mouth, his tongue continuing to flick against her bud.

Voldemort watched her chest heave as he held her thighs. She writhed under his touch, moaning. "Please, Tom, push me, Tom." She moaned, rolling her head side to side. "Please, what?" Tom goaded her. "Please, make me finish, let me finish." She looked up at him with pleading eyes. A smirk crossed his lips as he continued.

Lily felt the climax build in her abdomen, as she struggled to control her breathing. "Oh, Tom, your'e gonna m-make me cum..." She moaned, being right on the brink. Tom pulled his head away, position himself between her thighs.

He rested her hips on his knees, as he pulled out his throbbing member. Lily's eyes grew wide, as she stared at it. A decent length, but thick, he gripped it as if it wanted to take over. She bit her lip as she watched him slide the tip between her lips, leaving a glistening layer on his skin.

"Are you ready?" He stared down at her amazement, but didnt give her the option to answer as he thrusted gently into her. Her cry pierced his ears, as he maintained himself in her. She felt better than he expected she would have. He held her thighs tighter, feeling her velvety, fleshy walls gripping around his shaft.

He had always imagined her to be delectable to indulge in, soft and warm, even juicy. That could be why he never seemed interested in Bellatrix. She always seemed like she would be cold, and boney. Her breasts, though large, were not comforting to him, like Lillians were. He thought of these differences, lost in her body, as he began to feel her waves of pleasure rippling.

Voldemort came back to reality when he felt her take charge, bucking her hips against him. "Oh, so you want more then?" He brought her leg up, kissing her calf, as he pulled out. Lily braced herself as she watched him slide underneath of her, setting himself up under him. She took a deep breath, and settled herself down on him, feeling him fill every crevice she felt she had.

She found herself sitting fully on him, her breasts on his chest, as she let herself grind on him. He kissed the soft skin that brushed his lips with a heated passion, as he pulled her hips down harder against his own. Her cries and moans only arousing him further.

He felt it. The beginning of the end. Her moans becoming more rapid, as her thrusts became slightly erratic. Releasing her from her binds, she fell onto him, rubbing her entire body against him it seemed. She listened as he grunted and groaned, shifting under her. Lily threw her head back, taking him as deep as she could.

"Oh, yes, Tom... ohhhh, mmmmm!" She gritted her teeth as Voldemort moaned louder. He was ready to go, but she was already there. She suddenly tightened around him, he felt a wave of juices, feeling her milk him. He released himself, filling her, an explosion of pleasure that he had been witholding from himself, a wave of heat that flooded her.

He watched her wind down from their encounter, a drop of sweat slowly gliding down between the vally of her breasts. She snuggled down into his chest, sighing, his fingers mindlessly playing with a few loose tendrils of her hair.

"I suppose, you aren't that mean of an ol wizard." She smiled, looking up at him. He looked down at her. "Perhaps I will have to try harder next time." He smirked.

She rolled off of him, crawling under the blankets.

"I must get back to the manor, they will wonder where I have gone off to." He sat up to get his clothes.

"No, let them wonder. Tonight, you are mine." She held his hand, and pulled him into bed, to which he happily obliged.


	10. No Other Horcruxes

**D/C: I do not own nor profit from any of JK Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p>The night they shared, resonated through Voldemorts mind over the following weeks. He found it better to have her at arms length, away from his deatheaters, rather than in the mansion for them to ogle.<p>

He returned many nights to her room. Some nights it was to lay with her, and indule in their passions, but there were other nights where he watched her sleep, as she was blissfully unaware of his presence. For some reason, she had become something of a poison that seeped under his skin.

A torrential blizzard raged outside as he watched from her bedroom window. Sicily purred in his arms as he mindlessly ran his fingers down the cats spine. Lily had long fallen asleep, most likely dreaming of school judging by how many times she said "Professor."

She was confusing to him. She never shoed interest in his cause before, but here, she got close to one of Harry's friends, allowing for his followers to snatch her up, and yet she still comforts the pain she caused. If only Xenophelius knew it was her that led them there.

It was just that, that he loved, and loathed. She was good at manipulating men, and even women, into believing what she wanted them to, much like himself. Too much like himself. Fifty years ago, he would have been able to see right through to her intentions, but now, the monster he created reveals no secrets.

He wondered what it was like to sleep so soundly. Even when his plans were on track, he was worried through the nights. A frequent throbbing ache began to return to him. He felt it long ago, like when he made his first few horcruxes, but he stopped making them years ago.

He listened as she rolled over in bed, sighing. 'Oh the freedom she has.' He thought to himself. She was the one person who was free from his wrath. Who was able to anger him and walk away without punishment. Of course that meant that someone else got twice the punishment. Once for her making him so angry, and twice because he couldn't bring himself to punish her.

Well... He did tortuer her in other ways. He kept her on the bring of an orgasm for an entire night once. Other times, his own resolved weakened for them to both finish before he could torture her in such ways.

He flinched as he felt a jolt of pain rush through his chest. He clenched his fist and gave her one last look before disappearing. AS soon as he returned to his manor, he was approached by Lucius immediately. "My Lord, we have someone for you." He pushed past his servant. "He must have spoken your name my Lord, and has been known to have ties to the Potter boy." He spoke excitedly. Voldemort stopped. "But it is not Harry Potter, is that was you are saying?" "Well, yes, but, this man may know where he is.." Lucius stammered.

"There is no reason for me to make a personl appearance, is there?" He eyed Lucius who was faltering under the Lords gaze. "Don't bother me any further until I require you or you have useful information." Voldemort was in so much pain, he couldn't think of properly torturing Lucius. He slowly made his way to his room and laid on his bed. It was worse now than it had been when he left. He let out an enraged cry. "Master Lord, is the Master okay?" A tiny house elf peered at him from the corner. "Bring me Lillian. I need her here." He shivered. She was the only one he trusted to see him at the moment.

He waited only moments in bed with his eyes closed until the pain subsided a bit. Hebarely flinched as he felt the bed sink. He already knew it was her. "So, you missed me then?" She mumbled with a slight chuckle as she nuzzled up to him. He let out a soft groan, feeling how hot her skin was.

"Though you'd love to flatter yourself, I wanted to ask your opinion on a matter of a personal nature." He looked at her. "I've been having an issue." He stated. She propped herself up on her elbows, one her her purple satin straps falling from her shoulder. "Oh... OH! Oh, Tom, it's okay, plenty of men your age have that. It's painful, I know, but they have new treatments for erectile dysfunction these days. You'll be back to normal in no time." She laughed heartily at his expression, and doubletake. Before she could finish, he was on top of her, grinding his firm shaft into her. "Well, I guess that's not the problem." She moaned excitedly.

"No, as much as I'd love to indulge, the problem is this pain I've been having in my chest." She began running her fingers gently across his firm chest as he talked. "I got them when I made my horcruxes, but, it's back, and I don't know why." He hung his head and sighed.

She gently pushed him off to hold him. "Well Tom, it doesn't really surprise me that you are feeling this. What does surprise me, is how long you have lived with no ill effects of this nature." She mused, looking beyond him. "Did you make another one?" She questioned. "No, I didn't, which is why it is so bothersome to me." He rubbed he chest, annoyed.

"How many did you make Tom?" She spoke softly to him. "I think you already know the answer to that." He sighed. "That was silly!" She said raising her voice. "Nonsense!" Tom was now standing in front of her, fists clenched. "Seven is the most stable number in magic!" He spat. "Not when you have to lose something, Tom." She was standing now on the other end of the bed. "Oh, fine then, you tell me, I am sure you will try to find some flaw in my plan." He gave her a mocking tone. She smoothed out her nightie that barely grazed midthigh, before scrunching it up again by putting her hands on her hips.

"Everytime you made a horcrux, Tom, your soul split, fifty fifty. That means, your first horcrux has half of your soul in it. The next one, only had a quarter of your soul in it, and so on and so forth. For ever one that you made, you gave it half of whatever bit of soul you have left." She shook her head in disbelief. "You have been lucky you have not made anymore horcruxes from the people that you have killed, because your soul is... Fragile, Tom. It will fracture now, on it's own accord, anytime you kill someone." She watched as his eyes widened slightly, but he wouldn't let himself be entirely discovered.

"Tom, you must be careful. Do you think that, perhaps in the act of killing someone, you may have made an accidental horcrux?" She bit her pink lip in slight worry. Tom looked at her, eyeing her. "No, there is no way." "Very well, then I will look into other causes of this, but I guarentee no answers." She looked away from his burning eyes. "If that is all, then I will take my leave, Tom." She was quiet, almost too quiet for him. 'Upset, no doubt, that I may have possibly made another one, but there is no way, no way in hell!' He thought to himself. "You may stay, you will need access to my library in order to do your research."


	11. Dung's Interrogation

**D/C: I do not own nor profit from the use of JK Rowlings characters and/or books.**

**A/N: This chapter is going to be a little... well, dark. I hope you enjoy this installment of Self Preservation.**

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><p>Lily was rather content to be back in the mansion. It was better than being at home alone at least. She was perusing through large stacks of books, deciding which one to pick up first. She managed to find herself so engrossed in the book 'Magical Medicine,' she didn't even register Voldemort speaking to her until he was stroking her hair.<p>

"Come now, Lily, do you plan on getting any rest? Or are those books of better company tonight?" She jumped, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry." She leaned into him, shivering, her skin tingling from his touch.

"Did you find anything of interest?" He looked fown expectantly at her. "Well, I found a lot of things, but I don't think any pertain to you." She sighed. "Unless of course, you are a woman with Dragonpox and you want to concieve." She smiled at the book.

"Well, you missed a most interesting dinner. We had a Mundungus Fletcher with us. He was captured last night, but he said he knows well enough of Potter." She raised her brow. "Dung is an idiot." She sniffed. "What all did he tell you?" She gazed at the window. "Only that Potter is on the run. He sighed. "His mind held nothing of value," "that's a surprise." "- and he was resistant to the cruciatus. He never said a word other than that."

A flick of her wrist, and she was in her business attire. This suit consisted of her signature jacket, with short pinstripe black shorts, her boots and white gloves. Her hair and face were refreshed and made up, with crimson lips.

Voldemort stared at her. She was a beauty, a dark beauty. Deep, ancient, eternal beauty. Her hair flared up, making him think of a lions mane, as it framed her perfected features. "I'll be down in the dungeons." She growled. An excited smile crept across his face as he followed her closely.

Lily threw open the dungeon door with ease. Her eyes adjusted quickly as they scanned the large ominous room. She honed in on a short chubby man sitting against the damp stony wall. His short fat fingers played with the cold chains that bound him. "Ah, so it is you." She looked at him as he struggled to his feet.

"What you want? I answer'd ya bloody questions!" He stood offensively, but his voice was not so brave. "Well, no, Mr. Fletcher, you answered _their_ questions. You didn't answer mine." She sighed seductively. "Let's see... Ah! Tell me about the Potter boy." She tapped the tip of her wand to her bottom scarlet lip.

"I told them already! I was supposed to travel with them last summer when they moved the boy. Them Deatheat'rs showed up, so I scrammed! I haven't seen him since!" Voldemort smugly crossed his arms over his chest, as Mundungus gave him the same answer.

"Do you know what I do to little liars such as yourself, Dung?" She closed in on him, obviously a head taller than him. Voldemort clenched his teeth as she watched the mans eyes widen, eyeing the breasts that were within tongues reach. "I'll tell you what. Since you want to play your game with me, I will play my game with you."

Volemort shifted as she withdrew something from her pocket and set it on the floor. "That ain't big enough to scare me, or stop me." Dung laughed at the object. "Voldemort moved closer to see a tiny dragon sitting on the floor. "This, Mundungus, is a Kreda. Very much a dragon, but, also much smaller. The overall anatomy is a fraction of the dragons they resemble. But one thing makes them so... Fascinating."

She scooped up the tiny thing in her arms, letting it crawl along her jacket excitedly. Lily paced in front of Dung, with a distant smile on her face. "You see, they are quite loyal, to their rightful owners, but will consume whatever flesh it comes into contact with. Their appetites are, voracios. They could eat a full grown man in a single sitting." She smiled, kissing at the small reptile.

The Kreda let out a low whistle. "Yes baby, go down, see if he will offer a foot." She cooed as it jumped from her onto the floor, slowly slithering up to him. The dismal lighting in the room reflected off of the green and black scales along the Kreda's back. "You- You get that thing away from me!" Dung pressed his body flat against the wall, pushing against it. "Help! HELP!" His cried echoed. "Oh, I'll help you." A malicious grin crossed her lips as he was lifted against the wall, invisible bonds holding him. His heavy breathing and grunts filled the air.

Lillian consured a simple chair, and sat backwards in it. Voldemort admired her toned tan thighs as she straddled the chair. A sudden cry rang out, breaking his concentration. Lillian had her hand raised, fingers in a pinching gesture. His eyes shot to the now naked Mundungus. He watched as a thin strip of flesh peeled itself away from his shoulder and down his chest.

"When did you last see Harry Potter?" She asked coolly. "Oh, d-don't know! Some months back!" He sputtered. "Mmhm. What was that encounter about?" She watched as the Kreda jumped to grab the tip of the flesh, ripping it down, consuming it like a bloody, hairy, fatty noodle.

She sat and let him scream for a moment as the Kreda finished, and looked at her expectantly. The Kreda put its nose to the ground sniffing before sitting back down, waiting for it's next bite.

"Once again, what was that encounter about?" She asked louder, as she began peeling another strip. He squeezed his eyes shut, yelling and grunting through the pain. "A bloody necklace! A bloody FUCKIN necklace, that's what!" He whimpered and yelped as his left nipple peeled off. "Fuck you woman, stop!" He hollered. "Fuck me, Dung? Fuck me?" She stood up, leaning against the chair. "You LOOK at me when you make a request of me!" She yelled back to him, standing over the back of the chair. The reached out and snapped her hands back, as four small pieces of flesh fell to the ground, eaten greedily by the reptile.

Voldemort stared at the now lidless man, who could do nothing to shield his eyes from his horror. A wave of anger, and energy hit him, as he felt the whirlwind rising in Lily. "Tell me of the necklace Dung. Why the necklace?" Why did he want you for the necklace?" She cooed, working agian on another strip straight down his torso.

"It was Regulus!" He cried, blood and tears dripping down his face. "S-Sirius left Grimmauld, I knocked the place over, a-and the e-elf, must have s-s-s-seen me took the ugly thing." He sputtered, spraying the blood that was dripping down his lips. "Ugly? What did it look like?" "It was, silvery gold chain, w-with a yellow pendant. Like a long octogon it was, I-i-it had a s-snake on it... Like an S, I figured it b'longed to Sirius." He grew quiet, whimpering through the pain.

An angry Voldemort stepped forth from the shadows. "That, Mundungus, was my locket." Voldemort looked livid. "Sirius was never in Slytherin, which is, might I add, for which the S on that locket stands for. Who has it now?" Dung held his head, his breathing labored, as he began to sob. Another strip of skin began. "I don't knoooooooowwww!" He wailed. Voldemort rested his hands on Lilys hips. "Very well," he sighed, pulling her shorts down, he reached around. "We can wait, for now."

Voldemort began kissing the back of her neck, grinding into her. His fingers found their way between her folds, gently rubbing her clit. She sighed. "What do you say? Can it wait for a moment?" He mumbled to her. "I believe it can. She shivered, slowly rubbing her breasts.

Voldemort felt around her folds with his tip until he found her tight wet entrance. Without a word, he pushed himself into her. Her sudden moans drowned out Mundungus' cries in his ears. "Voldemort, please." She moaned as he set her breasts freem, grabbing them in hunger. He pulled her back onto his throbbing shaft wildly.

"Oh, honey, it looks as it though someone else is liking this show." She pointed to the man watching them, noticing his hard member growing. "It seems he loves it as much as I do." Voldemort sneered, turning Lily around, sitting her on the chair. He spread her legs wide, letting Dung take in the sight, teasing the man with the supple body he himself was filling. Wildly, he thrust into her, legs over his shoulder, legs in the air, or spread wide, she writhed beneath him.

Deep scratches forned on Dung's chest and face as Lily reached her orgasm, Voldemort shortly thereafter. "Now, Dung, if you still want that dick of yours, then I suggest you tell me who took it, or who you gave it to." She sighed and groaned as Voldemort kissed her neck and shoulders greedily. "Umbridge... I sold it to Delores Umbridge." He whispered.

"Good, you have done well enough." With a simple wave of the wand, his skin was renewed as if it never happened, and a large meal sat on a small table by his mat. "Eat, Mundungus, and sleep well." Voldemort scooped her up in his arms. As Voldemort carried her back to their room, he looked at her. "You shouldn't be so nice to him." His tone was flat. "No, but he knows now, that when he is compliant, he will be rewarded. SHould he withold what I want, then punishment, he will have earned." She gently stroked his head as he plopped her down on his bed.

"You are so sexy when you torture." He growled as he climbed atop of her.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading.


	12. Sands of Hope

**D/C: I do not own nor profit from any of JK rowlings works/characters**

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><p>There were no answers to be had for Voldemorts pains, save for two, though she never told him. Neither answer would have made him happy, and many were likely to be killed as a result. She had kept to herself in her own home as of late, pondering over the many things that strangled her thoughts.<p>

She remembered the day she nearly lost Harry Potter. He was an asset she could not afford to lose. Snatchers had caught him and his friends, and it was only by luck that she had enough time to chant a few spells before Bellatrix rounded upon them. From the shadows, she watched as Bellatrix tortured the girl, Hermione. She, however, could not help but feel smug as she watched Bellatrix's gloved hands.

She sad in her study, contemplating seeing him. Harry, that is. Would it be safe? She stroked her thumb with her pointer nail, staring into oblivion. Like a galaxy colliding, colors swirled together, melting into a single point and exploding into a brilliant picture. It was a cottage on the beach, with a small hill off to the side. She knew this was where they had buried Dobby, her house-elfs own brother. She also watched as Luna strolled down the beach thoughtfully. At least Xenophilius would be happy to know she is safe.

With a stern nod, Lily disapperated, reappearing a little ways from the cottage. Though the sun was out, the wind whipped around her, throwing her hair, and allowing her silver dress to billow along its breeze. She felt free, if only for a moment, as her feet sank into the sand, and the frigid waters covered her toes. the salty air filled her nose, as she listened to the waves lap at the land.

"Stop there!" A voice called. She paused in her tracks to see a tall slender man aiming his wand at her. "Who are you? What are you doing around here?" He demanded, brushing aside a few locks of reddish hair. Lily could see the scars painted upon his almost porcelain features. 'Yes, this one... He is marked...' Lily thought to herself. "I am simply walking, or has that now become a crime under his rule?" Lily tilted her head. "No, but it is not wise to walk about out here." He stood up a little straighter.

"Well, Bill, I must admit, I do want something. I wish to speak to Mr. Potter." She folded her arms, not breaking eye contact. "You won't, so you had better move along before I curse you into oblivion." He growled. "Bill, who is that?" Called another boy who looked much like the first, walking towards them. He was quickly followed by Hermione and Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, you are exactly who I wished to see right now." She smiled at the approaching young man. "No, she is one of them Harry!" Hermione drew her wand, raising it to curse Lily. Unphased, Lily flicked it away. "Now now, I am not here to fights." She sighed. "Then what are you here for?" Harry finally spoke. She looked at him, "maybe we should step inside?" They exchanged glances, but led her to the cabin at wand-point.

"How cozy! I lived in a place like this once." She smiled, looking around. Indeed it wasn't large by any means, but it was big enough. She sat down in a wobbly wooden chair at the kitchen table. Folding her hands, she wanted for the rest to take their seats.

"Now, what is the meaning of this?" Harry spoke from across the table. She took a deep breath. "First, I wish to extend my condolences for your friend Dobby. He was a good elf." Harry shook his head. "You knew nothing of him." He gritted through his clenched teeth. "No? Dobby was my house elf before he was the Malfoys. His sister still remains my house elf under free conditions. Had I not sent Dobby to you, none of you would be here now." They looked at one another.

"How did you know we were there anyways? You must be one of them!" Hermione cried. "I assure you, I am not. My arms are free of dark magic." She lifted her sleeves to show her fresh skin. Of course, it was that skin that Voldemort craved, refusing to taint it by bestowing a dark mark upon her.

"You are quite correct, however, that I was there. Your stinging jinx was clever, Hermione, but it was not enough. Lucky for you I veiled Harry." She locked eyes with him. "What do you mean by 'veiled' him?" Bill asked. He had been leaning against the counter quietly with his arms folded over his chest. Hermione spoke. "It is when you think you recognize someone you know, but you are not sure who they are, or where you know them from. It's the best thing after an invisibility cloak, or a memory eraser." she looked back to Lily, 'but why?" She sighed.

"You three have much more to do before this is over, Hermione." She took a sip of the tea that had been offered to her.

"I never thought you were real." Harry whispered, playing with the ends of his sleeves. "I always thought you were, like, a fairy godmother, or something." He looked down. "Harry, you know her?" Ron piped up, with an excited, interested look on his face. "Yes, but, well, no. I mean, I've dreamt of her, but I have never met her. I don't _know_ her." He spoke defensively. "I have been in Harry's dreams for years, guiding him. Now the time has come where aiding in dreams is no longer enough, and what I have come for is far too important for dreams." Lily looked around at the faces focused on her.

"I know what you are seeking. I know how to find them. As of right now, you are pretty much at a dead end." She started. "You must release the sword, and you will find the cup. It won't be easy, but you will get it." "Release the sword?" Hermione scoffed. "So, you mean, if we drop it or something?" Ron piped up. Lily chuckled. "No, Ronald. You must let it go." "And, to whom, do we release the sword to?" Hermione eyed her suspiciously. "The goblin, of course. He wants it." Lily whispered with a smile on her face. "But then, how do we destroy the horcruxes if we don't have the sword?" Ron cried. "There is more than one way to preen a pheonix, Ronald. But the sword will return in due time."

"What about the other horcrux?" He questioned. "Ah, you won't find that until you return to Hogwarts. I think, you will find that somebody close to you will already know the answer to that." She sighed, smiling slightly looking upon Luna from the corner of her eye. She tipped her teacup around, letting the liquid inside slide up and down the sides of the cup. Be careful though. Unfortunately, it would seem that Mundungus has let slip that he filched the necklace you destroyed. That he sold it to Umbridge, and it won't be long before he finds out that you last had it. He will put two and two together to learn of your plans, and will most likely take extra measures to protect the rest of the horcruxes." She bit her lip in thought.

"How do you know all of this?" Bill finally questioned. She sighed. "I know many things, Bill. Even things that I wish I did not." She gave him a weak smile. "I just want Harry to succeed in this, but if I give up too much information, then the Dark lord with know that I have helped you, for there are many things that only I would know, and if he were to discover that information from you, then I would not live to see this war through." She gave them all another smile.

Silence fell upon them, as they let the information permeate.

"Well, I must be back home." She stood gracefully. "Harry, I will see you again before this plays out." She smiled softly, "and to you two as well." She added. "Bill, may I speak with you for a moment?" She walked slowly to the door with Bill in tow. They stood facing the sea for what seemed like twenty minutes. "Bill, be careful. Your family will need you." She spoke, not looking into him. She saw him nod from her peripheral vision. "Why are you helping Harry?" Bill speculated out loud. "For the same reason you are, Bill. For the same reason you helped me." He nodded, knowing perfectly well what she meant. "Though, it has been wonderful, other duties beckon to me." She looked him in the eye, nodded her head, and was gone.

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><p>As soon as she felt the warmth of the fireplace upon her skin, she sighed. "Where did you go, Lillian?" She heard the cold voice sound. "To Albania, my Lord. I find myself quite at peace there sometimes." She turned to face him. He nodded, and sat back in his chair. "Well, go upstairs then, and get in bed. I have had the worst sort of day, and wish to take it out by ravaging your body." He purred. She could only happily oblige.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: I would love your feedback to know how this story is progressing. I know my timelines my be a little funky, and I apologize, but, for what it is, I hope you enjoy this. (V)_(*,,,*)_(V)**


	13. Shield Me From My Pain

**I do not own, nor profit from, any of JK Rowlings works/characters.**

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><p>The Dark Lord had never been so angry in his recent life. He stood in the lobby of Gringotts, surrounded by bodies of wizards and goblins alike. Blood soaked the floors as he turned, painting his soles red. Many of his followers stood among the marble pillars as if they were trying to hide from their lords wrath.<p>

Lily stood by the door, her arms crossed under her loose velvet cloak. She had not seen his bloodlust so insatiable before, giving her a twinge of fear. "I am sorry, my Lord." She spoke softly, as he breathed heavily, standing under the gaping hole the Gringotts dragon left in the ceiling. "M-my Lord? I do not mean to pry, but what is it, that they took?" Narcissa was the only other one to speak, only her voice was stronger, almost demanging. "That is none of your concern, just know that Potter and his friends will be destroyed for what they have caused." He hissed angrily.

Nagini slithered close to her master as he walked to the door. He took Lily's hand, as Nagini wrapped herself around his leg, and disapparated back to her home. It was the only place as secure as his own home. "Tom, what did they take?" Lily repeated Narcissa's question, as she rubbed his shoulders and neck gently with her fingertips. "The cup." He stated bluntly. She sighed, resting her forehead on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in closely. "I am, so tired right now love. If you would like, then you are more than welcome to come and lay down with me." She nestled her cheek into him.

She had been wanting to speak with him as it was, but kept being interrupted by either sexual releases, or the deatheaters needs for direction from their lord. Uncharacteristically, he carried her up the stairs. "Oh Tom, you always could sweep me off my feet." She smiled at him, though he still felt enraged within. He was too angry for a rendeszous in the sheets, and barely responded with her sweet laments. The pain he felt inside had become a constant companion as of late, and carrying her was no remedy for it.

Tom sat in an overstuffed chair next to the bed, as she laid down, facing him, her cloak still draping her frame. "Tom, how many has he destroyed now?" He heard her gentle voice in his ears. "Four. Four are already destroyed." He gritted his teeth. "Only two now remain." He felt his ears grow hot. "If he were to get to the other two, and if he were to succeed in killing me..." His eyes went blank as he stared out of the window. "Tom, there is no saying he will kill you. I do not believe that, for you are powerful Tom. More powerful than Harry, and you will succeed in your mission." She reached out, holding onto his hand. His eyes never even gazed at her.

"Perhaps, I can use you to aid me in creating another Horcrux?" His head swayed, but his eyes stayed fixed on a far off target. "Tom, you are not strong enough to handle another horcrux." She stood now, pacing back and forth. "I mean... look at how easily your soul split apart after creating your last horcrux!" Her face was full of disbelief. "I mean, your soul now, is so delicate, a simple rebounding curse could cause you to create another horcrux, and another and another!" She stopped. "Tom, I wish you would just have remorse. Put your soul back together." A sudden and unexpected admission escaped her. She quickly covered her mouth in shock.

Tom's eyes glared into her. "So, you would have me feel what I cannot? Or would you rather have me whole so you can destroy me in one curse?" He stood quickly, nearly toppling the chair behind him. Lily began to step back, but Tom reached out, grabbing her arms and holding her to him. "You... BITCH!" He threw her away from him. Lily winced as she felt herself go against the wall. "You want the power, you want MY power! You will NEVER get it!" He slapped her across the face, watching her head turn, the blood splattering slightly on the wall. He learned from the first day not to curse her, for it only reflected. However, that did not seem to cover physical punishment. Angrily, he held onto both of her arms, squeezing tighter, loving the fear and pain on her face. As soon as he let go, he felt calm as if nothing had ever happened.

"We must go to Hogwarts." He spoke quietly after many moments of silence. "We must go back to where it all began, and we must kill the boy. That is where he will go." She watched the ball of his throat bob as he swallowed. His voice was chillingly quiet as he spoke. "There, on the grounds of Hogwarts, one of us will die." Lily stumbled to her feet. "Then I hope it is not you. I only say that now, so that my child will know their father." She sniffed as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Now get out, Tom. I have no desire to see you." She shook with anger, the tears still falling. Tom's gaze bored into her. "What did you say?" He looked puzzled, and mystified, hypnotized, every emotion known, and yet no emotion at all. "You heard me. Get out. Get OUT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" She began screaming.

Something happened in that moment, that Tom did not expect. A sudden heat filled the room, and was gone, leaving Lily frozen in that moment in time. Her face twisted with anguish, pain and rage, her arm still lingering above her head ready to throw a beautiful vase of flowers at him. Her cloak draped open, as he stepped towards her apprehensively. He was not sure how long this devilry would last, so he would take this as an oppurtunity.

He pushed aside the fabric, and rubbed her abdomen. She had indeed felt bigger, though not so much he would have noticed it during sex. He shook his head in disbelief. It did not seem possible, as he had placed the proper spells on her. He felt a strange lump on her side. "A baby belt?" He almost scoffed to himself. His fingers played with the strings meticulously, finally freeing the bulge of her pregnancy. She was much farther along than he would have thought. A part of him burned with anger for not knowing sooner, but another part of him ached in pain for not only not knowing sooner, but for his actions just moments ago. He stepped back and only then noticed the tears that still slipped down her cheeks.

"Frozen, and you are still crying inside, my love, my child." He whispered. "Just as you have all those long years." He pulled away from her face, and looked once again. She was stunningly beautiful in a moment of raw emotion, but he could not linger in her wake. He took one last look at both his heart and his child, before departing. The pain he became familiar with only ached more inside.


	14. Warnings and the Wounded

**I do not own, nor profit from any of JK Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p>Harry broke the surface of the water. The dragon they freed from Gringotts flew away in a majestic display. Ron and Hermione came up beside him, as the trio swam to a nearby shore. They sat, momentarily, sputtering and catching their breath when a soft voice spoke behind them.<p>

"Harry, I am happy to see you again, unharmed." Hermione was the first to turn, her wand at the ready. "Lily? What are you doing out here?" She asked, confused. Ron and Harry looked astounded. Lily just chuckled. "I am not REALLY here, Hermione. I am now, what Harry has always seen." She looked at Harry, who nodded apprehensively. "I only ever see you in my dreams, why are you here now? While I'm awake?" She stepped forward. "Harry, Voldemort is planning to attack the school. Somewhere in Hogwarts, you must find another Horcrux. Do not fear, he will bring the final horcrux to you." She rested her hand on Harry's shoulder, though he felt nothing.

"Harry, I don't know if we should trust her. She may be setting up a trap for us." Ron's voice was hoarse as he expressed his doubts. "But she has never steered me wrong." He snapped back. "But Harry, we were never this close before." Ron implored. Lily stepped back and looked at the three. "Believe me or not, if you follow my words, you will make it through this. When you get to Hogsmeade, go directly to the Hog's Head Inn. Find Aberforth, he will lead you right. Dally in the streets, and you will not make it to the castle." She warned before fading away into a sweet mist. "Well, what do you say?" Harry looked at his companions. Hermione sighed. "Well, she may be right... I mean, if the Death Eaters have taken over, then they are probably crawling all over Hogsmeade, so, I guess it would make sense... But, who's Aberforth?" They all looked to one another for an answer, but came up empty.

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><p>Lily could hear the crystalline charm cracking as it released its hold on her. She felt a cool breeze across her skin once more, the vase she held fell to the floor. Her lungs took in the sweet air, gasping. Her feet carried her unsteadily to the chair her lover had been sitting in before their dispute. She cried, letting go of the adrenaline rush, feeling the pain of his strike, the pain of realizing there was no hope. He would never see her as anything more than a silly girl in love. She growled in anger, looking at her reflection across the room, her stomach potruding. She was due soon. Too soon. Her pregnancy oddly accelerated by the power of the crystals no doubt. Lily had to occupy her mind. She knew that Voldemort would be back sooner than later.<p>

Her mind turned to what she said to Harry. If they were smart, they would listen to her and go to Aberforth quickly. With alarms set to go off as soon as he steps in the village, she knew they wouldn't have much time before the Death Eaters closed in on him. Just outside of her door, to the left, was the baby's room. Yellow and green pastels decorated the walls, a rocking crib set up, and a plush rocking chair sat by the window. her hands grazed over the crib before she reached in. She withdrew a small stuffed bear that hugged her hand. The magic was wearing off, but after seventy years, you couldn't expect a kids toy to hold much of its original enchantments.

A deep sigh emanated from her throat, as she set the bear back down. She went to work setting up protective enchantments around her home. If anybody found out that she was carrying the dark lords child, they would surely do their best to remove its existance. She pointed her wand around, casting her spells silently, her mind wandering to new depths. She had a gutwrenching feeling building within herself. Choices that would need to be made, and would she have the strength to make the right one?

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><p>It had been two days since Voldemort had seen Lily. A large part of himself didn't want to face her, knowing what he did. He didn't want to admit that a part of him felt shame, but he couldn't ignore that it's why he had avoided her home. Sitting in the parlor where hs usually conducted business, he listened to people droning on with their presentations, giving their opinions on how to proceed with an attack. The grounds of the Malfoy Manor had been overrun by his army, with tents and encampments set up all over the grounds. Snatchers, werewolves, and even giants had set up makeshift dwellings in the backyard. It was almost amusing to him to watch Lucius' face when a giant had clubbed a deep hole right through his serenity maze.<p>

Without a word, he got up and left. He couldn't sit through another boring speaker. His chest had been aching greatly, and his mood had been foul the past few days as it was. Voldemort picked up a dusty book he kept hidden in his office. It was Lily's old journal. He found himself at peace whenever he read it. One of the few possessions he managed to keep over the many years. It didn't really matter to him that he had read it probably a hundred times, the oil of his skin wearing down the faded ink, the constant use weakening the spine with every turn of the page. It only mattered that it was there, in his hands at that moment.

A sudden pang of searing hurt overcame him, a loud yell emitting from him. A stream of curses rang from behind the closed doors, as his Death Eaters listened. A small popping sound broke his concentration, as he panted. A small well groomed house elf stood before him. "Lord, I bring word from my Lady. She informs you that it is time." With that the elf was gone, and Voldemort quickly followed suit. Transport was difficult, as his mind was still clouded with pain, but he appeared in her room in one piece.

Lily was there on her bed, propped up on pillows, her knees apart in the air, sweat soaking her gown. The room was too warm for Voldemort. He sat by the window, not saying a thing, just watching as a midwife and the house elves worked around her. He stroked the soft fabric, lost in thought, entranced. So engrossed in the spectacle, he could could hardly feel the pain he was truly in. Her wails overpowered the rest of the voices in the room. "This one is going to be complicated, I can assure you. The first birth always is!" The housewife chirped to one of the elves. She seemed oblivious to the other presence in the room, perhaps out of ignorance, or perhaps out of fear.

The hours passed by until Lily finally fell asleep. It was a nice reprieve from the painful contractions that had begun. The baby was ready to come out, but wouldn't. She had requested Tom to be there, though she knew she would only get Voldemort. A cooling potion provided some comfort from the sweltering room. Stacie, the midwife she had hired, watched over her, monitoring the long process. Voldemort sighed, walking out, and into a bedroom down the hall. He was sure he would be awakened by her moans when the labor resumes, but for now, he needed to rest. His own pain had sapped a lot of his strength, and he needed to replenish it.

Sleep did not come easy, and years of supressed thoughts came to his mind. He turned and tossed and tossed and turned, until slumber finally took him.


	15. Welcome to the World

**I do not own nor profit from the use of J.K. Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p>Voldemort was unsure of just how long he had been asleep. The sun was beginning to rise again, peeping through the heavy curtains of the room. He may have even taken part in watching the sunrise. It was going to either be his last, or Harry Potters.<p>

He dwelled on that thought until his body was once more racked in pain. He felt as though a white hot knife was dissecting him. Sizzling through his joints, cutting through his muscles and organs, scorching his flesh. He felt sick. Voldemort squeezed his eyes shut, as if the pain was a monster he was too afraid to face. Shelly and Abby, her oldest house elves ran to the room, only to find black and white features convulsing on the ground, a quivering mass. "Does the Lord need help sir?" Shelly stepped forward. Voldemort was too engrossed in his agony, he barely registered he was no longer alone. A wave of his hand sent the two small beings flying from the room, the door slamming behind them.

From the other end of the hallway, he could hear Lily screaming. Every moment that passed by seemed like eternity. His memories flooded him, absorbing him, abusing him, screaming in his distant thoughts. He rolled over on his back, panting heavily, sweat beading down his pallid skin. The light from the fireplace flickered crossed the ceiling. The sun crept up higher. Time was still.

Lily sat in her bed, knees apart, gripping her sheets. She gritted her teeth as she pushed. The midwife sat, waiting for the arrival of their child. "Push, you much push Lily! We will get this child out yet." Stacie spoke surely and defiantly. "Oh, Lily, I can see the head already! Just a little longer dear." Lily did just that, she pushed, and growled, gripping the sheets in agony. The elves did their best to hold her knees back, sometimes faltering against her strength. Voldemort stumbled into the room, barely entering the door. Tears filled his eyes. Tears of pain, no doubt.

The walls began to shake, as if they were ready to tear apart. The floor bounced and rumbled, small objects fell from her desk and vanity, as the furniture itself bounced and swayed in the tumult. The lights flickered violently, and the sound of breaking glass decorated their ears. "One more time!" Stacie cried, as she seemed to pull gently. Lily cried out, joined with Voldemort, their cried filled the room, drowning out the thunderous rumble that surrounded them. As their voices died down, a small infant cry erupted into the room.

Both parents were covered in sweat from pain. Lily, sat up a little higher in bed shortly after delivering the placenta. Stacie waved her wand, clearing away the mess of the childbirth, but laying down a thick padding to collect any excess fallout. "Here now dearie, take this, and it will rid you of any residual pain for a few days." She passed Lily a small light purple phial. Lily took back the slightly minty drink, and sighed. "Thank you Stacie. I appreciate all you have done for me." She spoke softly. "Would you like to see your child?" Stacie asked, as she cleaned and swathed the baby. "Of course Stacie, of course." Stacie turned, a light yellow bundle in her arms. "Lily, say hello to your son." She said with a broad smile upon her face. Lily smiled brightly, and took him in her arms.

As she looked upon her child, she saw a crown of midnight hair, with bright aqua eyes. His skin was fair, resembling his father as he was, not as he is. Very little did he actually look like Lily at this point, except of course, for the blue that speckled his eyes. "Tom, would you come see?" She asked softly, looking over at Voldemort, who seemed in awe, or perhaps in shock. She watched him move slowly across the room, sitting beside her on the bed. "My son." He whispered. All pain that had racked his body suddenly left him. He trembled slightly as he held the mirror of his infant self. "I shall name him Dominatio Filius Marvolo Calidonius. The Lords son. He will not bear my fathers name, may that name not live on beyond me. He will bear your ancestors name, of better stock than my father." He ran a thumb over the newborns forehead, gently stroking his skin. He stared, long into the child, but as suddenly as the pain had stopped, he quickly handed the child back to Lily. "Keep my heir safe Lily. I am tasking you with this. Do not fail." With no more than those parting words, he disappeared in wisps of black smoke.

Voldemorts plans had been lain down for the assault on Hogwarts during the following evenings. His followers were growing anxious, as was he. For as long as he was not in full control, his heir was in danger from opposition. Though he trusted Lily could handle protecting Dominatio, he still feared if they were to overpower her position. The Calidonius residence was next to impenetrable, but not entirely proofed. He had pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as the assault was ready to begin.

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><p><strong>AN: This is the beginning of the end for this story. There are a few ideas I have for the end. A happy ending, an intermediate, and a tragic ending. Let me know which end you like to see for Lily, Voldemort and Dominatio. I think there will be about 2 or 3 more stories left. So, I hope you enjoy this story. Thank you all for following this story, and for reading these works. **

**Just a heads up, Dominatio Filius means The Lords Son in Latin.**


	16. Angel of the Battle Dark

**I do not own, nor profit from any of JK Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p>Dominatio grew more beautiful in his own right every single day. Lily was in a new world as she enjoyed rearing her son. Though he was only days old, she enjoyed every gurgle and coo. The peaceful moments as he fed from her body, while she put her head back in a plush chair in his nursery. The toys meant to stimulate his senses were strung about the room, filling shelves and strung from the ceiling. Small dirigibles silently breezed across the highest points, propelling themselves silently along. She was most content in her position. From a shy young girl, to an exotic vixen of a woman, to a beautiful, mature mother in what seemed to her only a matter of a year. Deep in her heart, a darkness tugged hard, which she strived to ignore, at least for now.<p>

The assault had begun at Hogwarts. Lily felt in her heart that Harry had found the diadem, and inwardly she smiled, though she knew it only quickened her end. "Abby, please help me to get Dominatio ready for travel." She called to her old friend. As Lily steeped in a hot bath, she listened as Abby prepared the baby. Though her waking life was a dream, in sleep, her dreams were her nightmares. She knew what had to be done, and she prayed hard for guidance and strength. Finally, she climbed out of the bath, and began working on her appearance. Her hair was dried quickly and put back into a gentle bun with sweet curls framing her face. Her eyes were cast in kohl, and her lips kept a kind pink hue. By appearance, she should have not had affiliation with the dark forces of this life. A certain light radiated from her, stemming from within it seemed. A glow, that surrounded her appearance, though gave off no natural shine. In that moment, she appeared an angel among mortal men.

A cream colored dress draped her frame, showing slight curves, but keeping her a mystery at once. The scent of roses followed her gently wafting through the air, light, but unmistakably there. She wore gold slippers, and walked lightly to her childs side. She lightly picked him up, and disapparated to the outskirts of the school of which she once loved so much. A tear fell from her eye as she saw the damage that had already been had to its sacred walls. Luckily for her Dominatio had been sleeping soundly, with no intention of waking up soon. She sat from high atop a ridge, looking upon the glowing embers of Hogwarts.

The unintelligable yells rose on the air, spells shot back and forth between students and snatchers, teachers and trolls. Deatheaters and defenders of their school. Green, blue, red, yellow, orange, all lighting up the night sky. If one had not known, one would have thought a firework display was taking place there on the cliff at the edge of the loch. Her heart was heavy with the suffering she was witnessing. The death and the pain that she felt, to some degree, she had endorsed. The ground rumbled during the battle, even up to where she was. Soon, as she stood there on the ridge, the battle quieted down, and she could feel Voldemorts presence move down to the water. Now was not her time to appear, she knew it. "Two more to go, my heart." She spoke softly.

She drew her wand, and began a sweet song that carried on the air. There are many who would have said, they heard a kindly voice in the air, that filled their hearts with courage, and their souls with comfort, but none would speak allowed, as the grim reality was setting in. As they waved their dead into the Great Hall. Students they knew, friends, and confidants, and teachers, all of whom they had so loved. There was no telling where else some may have been, for not all were felled there in the courtyard. Bricks and stones were levitated to release the defenders who were crushed to their end. Lily choked a tear, as she saw a giant passing far below, the figure of a young student still impaled upon a spike in its armored boot. She could not imagine that end. Her heart became heavier with every passing moment, and her song faltered in her own sadness.

A whisper broke out. From within her, and throughout the land, she could hear Voldemorts message. To deliver Harry, for Harry to step up and stop all of the fighting. To sacrifice himself to allow the rest to live. She shook her head in grief, but stood still, like a white stone pillar. Nothing about her moved, save for the gentle wind blowing through her cloth and curls, and the tears that rolled silently down her cheek.

The time drew by, agonizingly slow. The world seemed still, a different world than it had been just a short moment ago. A sharp pang hit her, causing her stance to crumble for the moment. She let out a cry, and knew then that it had been done. Harry Potter had faced Voldemort, and Voldemort had destroyed another bit of his own soul. A sadness rose from the Dark Forest, and a far off cheer arose. Lily stood back up, steadying herself. Slowly she began her descent onto Hogwarts grounds. She would be there for the end, no matter which way it went. This she had vowed herself. And no matter which way the winds swayed now, she vowed, she would still stand when the dust settled. She would be preserved.

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><p><strong>AN: Alright, just to reiterate, you, the readers, will choose how this story shall end. A happy ending, a moderate ending, or a tragic ending. This will be your decision. Let me know, for I can't make the last story without you. I couldn't have made these stories, without you, knowing that if I write these, you would read them. Thank you all again. Thank you so much.**


	17. The End: Version One (Happy)

**I do not own nor profit from the use of J.K. Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p><em><strong>AN: I have decided to make the different endings. Most of the responses were to have a happy ending, but I thought of two other endings as well which I will post after this. Thank you all for reading this story, and I apologize for how long this has taken to unfold.**_

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><p>Lily silently ascended the steps to the bell tower. The pendulum was stopped amid the battle, and there stood a small white beacon that went unnoticed so high up from the battlefield. She sat down with Dominatio in her lap, watching as the sky slowly lightened to a dull gray. It reminded her of the morning she got her kitten from Tom. That dull gray morning, where the rain petered down from the clouds, and smoke curled up from the chimney. Where she made sure that Tom had coffee in the morning and three hearty square meals. Where the sea crashed upon the cliffs below, and the salty air whipped up violently, shaking the thin windows and rattling the bones of the shack. The images brought a tear to her eye.<p>

She missed that little shack she called a prison for 50 years. She missed it so much, she actually had it rebuilt. It wasn't quite the same as it was all those years ago of course. She made sure to add her own touches, and of course, a good quiet place for Dominatio to be. It was a sturdier building now, and thanks to her house elves, she had plenty of help rebuilding it before Dominatio was born. It was like the small little cottage she had seen in the magazines, that she had hoped she could have had 50 years ago with Tom. That was no longer so. This was a new reality.

Below her, in the distance, she could see a large gathering of deatheaters moving closer to the castle. The drove appeared as black fog, as it had no apparent form. As it grew closer, she could see Hagrid carrying a small form. He held Harry in his arms, grief and anguish written on Hagrids face. Lily smiled, knowing to herself that he was not truly gone, happy that Harry played dead so well. All she could do was wait for Nagini. As soon as she was gone, then Lily could make the final move. She whispered to Dominatio, sweetly comforting him, though he seemed unaffected by his surroundings.

The Deatheaters gathered in the courtyard, and Hogwarts defenders came to oppose them. Nagini had come to the field, and another attack began. Tom stayed on the field, and Lily stayed to watch him. It wasn't until Tom went inside of the school, that she got worried. That was not how her vision played out, but she could not intervene yet. She stood there, worried. Should she go in and search for Harry? Should she stay there and wait to see what happens? Luckily for her, she sat and pondered the option for so long, that they were there in the courtyard again, facing one another. Tom screamed, as Neville appeared, chased by his prized snake. Nagini struck out at Neville and fell, her head cleaved from her body. Tom was now wounded, and ready to fall. Almost.

Lily looked on, watching Tom and Harry duel. This was now her time. Lily whispered gently, but it resounded in Tom's ears. "_You have never learned, Tom. You brought this upon yourself. Your downfall will be half of the story." _Tom and Harry looked around. _"You could not be immortal forever, Tom."_ Tom finally looked up, and saw Lily standing there, a bundle in her arms. _"Your horcruxes are gone, save for one. You Tom, will not survive the day as you are, but I will survive. I will go on, with, or without our son. Your final horcrux." _Tom yelled out angrily, blasting her with spells. Harry stepped back, dismayed at what he was seeing. Every spell that landed, was blocked by a crystalline shield over Lily and Dominatio.

Lily stepped to the edge, extending her arms, and slowly, the bundle fell from her arms. Tom lunged forward, crying out, but was stopped by a sudden searing pain from deep within. He fell to his knees, writhing, as he was encased in a bright light. Wisps of smoke began to shoot in and out of the unstructured orb, and his cries for Dominatio lessened. Bystanders were pushed back by the light that emanated from Tom. Even Lily had to stand behind the large pendulum to avoid the blinding rays. She reached down, and picked up Dominatio, wrapping him in her own gown, before walking downstairs towards the courtyard. She had to push through the crowd, as the light died down. Before the light totally faded, she grabbed his hand, apparating to her perfect cottage.

"Lily? Where are we?" Tom coughed. "Albania, Tom. We are back at the beginning." Lily kneeled beside him. He remained on his back, staring into the sky, listening to the waves crashing far below. "Our shack? You have got to be kidding. It's an unfit place." He rolled over to see the beautifully rebuilt structure, two house elves standing on the doorstep. "I knew this day would come, with you or not. I wanted it built again." Tom reached out his hand to his son, but realized quickly how supple and youthful his hands actually looked. He felt his face, his hair, and scrambled to find a reflective surface. He looked at his 24 year old self, and gazed. "What happened?" He whispered more to himself than anything. "Remorse Tom. That is what happened." Lily stood behind him, handing their son to a house elf. he strangely had no urge to yell harsh things to the elf for handling his child. "Your remorse repaired your soul. You are whole again." "And Dom-" "He is no longer a horcrux. By repairing your soul, it took back your bit of soul that was within him." "I saw you throw him over..." He shook his head. Lily laughed. "Well, it would seem that way. However, there was so much rock debris, I picked up an infant sized brick, wrapped it nicely, and threw it over. He was never in harms way." Tom nodded, processing everything that had happened.

That evening, they sat on the front porch, sipping coffee, and talking quietly as the sun set over the sea. Their plans to move back to her family home when things died down, and how to raise their son, and of all things, his contentment of being a father and lover and no more. Sicily stretched out in the warm night, and sighed. Tom reached over, holding Lily's left hand with his right, kissing it gently. "Of all things, I must say thank you, my flower. My snow white. For saving me. I do believe our first order of business however, should be this." Tom gently slipped a beautiful ring on to her finger. "Marry me, Lily. Marry me and make me happier, than I have ever been before." Lily smiled, nodding. This was going to be a good life from here on out.

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><p>Tom and Lily were married that December, enjoying a small ceremony and reception. They moved back to Lilies family estate to raise Dominatio. When he was two, they welcomed twin boys, Xavier and Tom. Then the twins were one and a half, they welcomed a daughter named Isabella. Tom never did return to his old ways, though the occasional thought would strike him. His focus was doting upon his family, not on the dark arts. Lily worked occasionally by working on charms, sending them in for public use. Of course most of them came from her family books, spells, charms and potions passed down through the generations. Tom and Lily grew up together, watching their children grow, go to school, become powerful in their own rights, get married and have children, and to watch those children have children. They were buried together just outside of their cottage after very old age took them.<p>

They say sometimes a gleaming comes from the point on the Albanian cliff, whenever the sun hits it just right.


	18. The End: Version Two (Moderate)

**I do not own nor profit from the use of J.K. Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p><em><strong>AN: I have decided to make the different endings. Most of the responses were to have a happy ending, but I thought of two other endings as well which I will post after this. Thank you all for reading this story, and I apologize for how long this has taken to unfold.**_

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><p>Lily silently ascended the steps to the bell tower. The pendulum was stopped amid the battle, and there stood a small white beacon that went unnoticed so high up from the battlefield. She sat down with Dominatio in her lap, watching as the sky slowly lightened to a dull gray. It reminded her of the morning she got her kitten from Tom. That dull gray morning, where the rain petered down from the clouds, and smoke curled up from the chimney. Where she made sure that Tom had coffee in the morning and three hearty square meals. Where the sea crashed upon the cliffs below, and the salty air whipped up violently, shaking the thin windows and rattling the bones of the shack. The images brought a tear to her eye.<p>

She missed that little shack she called a prison for 50 years. She missed it so much, she actually had it rebuilt. It wasn't quite the same as it was all those years ago of course. She made sure to add her own touches, and of course, a good quiet place for Dominatio to be. It was a sturdier building now, and thanks to her house elves, she had plenty of help rebuilding it before Dominatio was born. It was like the small little cottage she had seen in the magazines, that she had hoped she could have had 50 years ago with Tom. That was no longer so. This was a new reality.

Below her, in the distance, she could see a large gathering of deatheaters moving closer to the castle. The drove appeared as black fog, as it had no apparent form. As it grew closer, she could see Hagrid carrying a small form. He held Harry in his arms, grief and anguish written on Hagrids face. Lily smiled, knowing to herself that he was not truly gone, happy that Harry played dead so well. All she could do was wait for Nagini. As soon as she was gone, then Lily could make the final move. She whispered to Dominatio, sweetly comforting him, though he seemed unaffected by his surroundings.

The Deatheaters gathered in the courtyard, and Hogwarts defenders came to oppose them. Nagini had come to the field, and another attack began. Tom stayed on the field, and Lily stayed to watch him. It wasn't until Tom went inside of the school, that she got worried. That was not how her vision played out, but she could not intervene yet. She stood there, worried. Should she go in and search for Harry? Should she stay there and wait to see what happens? Luckily for her, she sat and pondered the option for so long, that they were there in the courtyard again, facing one another. Tom screamed, as Neville appeared, chased by his prized snake. Nagini struck out at Neville and fell, her head cleaved from her body. Tom was now wounded, and ready to fall. Almost.

Lily looked on, watching Tom and Harry duel. This was now her time. Lily whispered gently, but it resounded in Tom's ears. "_You have never learned, Tom. You brought this upon yourself. Your downfall will be half of the story." _Tom and Harry looked around. _"You could not be immortal forever, Tom."_ Tom finally looked up, and saw Lily standing there, a bundle in her arms. _"Your horcruxes are gone, save for one. You Tom, will not survive the day as you are, but I will survive. I will go on, with, or without our son. Your final horcrux." _Tom yelled out angrily, blasting her with spells. Harry stepped back, dismayed at what he was seeing. Every spell that landed, was blocked by a crystalline shield over Lily and Dominatio.

Lily stepped to the edge, extending her arms, and slowly, the bundle fell from her arms. Tom lunged forward, but was caught up in his own robes. The blanket fell amid a pile of rubble, and fell down the other side out of sight from him. His mind was racing now, he could not see nor think straight, as he wildly cast the killing curse in any given direction. A flash of green bounced back at him, and all fell quiet. Nobody moved as they watched Lily approach Tom with full arms. She leaned down and disapparated with him in tow.

That was the end of a great wizard. Evil, yes, but great. Under the gray morning sky, by a rebounded curse, was he struck down. Ruined by the only woman he had ever come close to loving. By the woman who held now, his only heir. He remembered the trees here. He was back in Albania, he had to be, as he clung desperately to the last bits of his body. Lily was kneeling over him, he saw the glow on her face. She was like an angel, coming to him in his hour of need. She held their son to him, as he took the childs hand. A sudden surge ripped through him, his son was now crying, and Lily was pulling back a basilisk fang. That was the last piece of his soul. The last thing he ever saw. The end of a great wizard.

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><p>Lily administered the pheonix tears to her son, and passed him to a house elf. She gathered as many of the ashes as she could, placing them in a pile. She encased the ashes in crystal, the same as he had done to her so long ago. This time, however, he would not come back, or wake up from this spell. This would be his final resting place. Away from disrespectful feet to trample his grave, or from obnoxious reporters trying to get a look at the site. A single white calla lily was laid upon his modest tomb.<p>

As Lily had promised, she perservered. She survived. Dominatio asked once about the scar on his shoulder, but was satisfied with his mothers 'just out playing' answer. She never did marry. After such a lover, how could she? She poured her heart into her son, who looked every day more and more like his father, but acted more and more like his mother. The perfect balance. She watched him grow into a fine young man, and wizard. Lily herself did well, working with the ministry and the schools to help structure learning plans, as well as reach out to the children who seemed to need more personal help and support.

Dominatio had his own great grandchildren when time claimed Lily. On her deathbed it is said the last words she spoke were to Tom himself, as if he was in the room with them. _"I'm coming home to you sweetheart. I've waited long enough to see you again. I'm coming home."_ He buried her, as he asked, next to the crystal tomb in Albania, where disrespectful feet and nosey reporters would never find them.


	19. The End: Version Three (Dark)

**I do not own nor profit from the use of J.K. Rowlings works and/or characters**

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><p><em><strong>AN: I have decided to make the different endings. Most of the responses were to have a happy ending, but I thought of two other endings as well which I will post after this. Thank you all for reading this story, and I apologize for how long this has taken to unfold.**_

* * *

><p>Lily silently ascended the steps to the bell tower. The pendulum was stopped amid the battle, and there stood a small white beacon that went unnoticed so high up from the battlefield. She sat down with Dominatio in her lap, watching as the sky slowly lightened to a dull gray. It reminded her of the morning she got her kitten from Tom. That dull gray morning, where the rain petered down from the clouds, and smoke curled up from the chimney. Where she made sure that Tom had coffee in the morning and three hearty square meals. Where the sea crashed upon the cliffs below, and the salty air whipped up violently, shaking the thin windows and rattling the bones of the shack. The images brought a tear to her eye.<p>

She missed that little shack she called a prison for 50 years. She missed it so much, she actually had it rebuilt. It wasn't quite the same as it was all those years ago of course. She made sure to add her own touches, and of course, a good quiet place for Dominatio to be. It was a sturdier building now, and thanks to her house elves, she had plenty of help rebuilding it before Dominatio was born. It was like the small little cottage she had seen in the magazines, that she had hoped she could have had 50 years ago with Tom. That was no longer so. This was a new reality.

Below her, in the distance, she could see a large gathering of deatheaters moving closer to the castle. The drove appeared as black fog, as it had no apparent form. As it grew closer, she could see Hagrid carrying a small form. He held Harry in his arms, grief and anguish written on Hagrids face. Lily smiled, knowing to herself that he was not truly gone, happy that Harry played dead so well. All she could do was wait for Nagini. As soon as she was gone, then Lily could make the final move. She whispered to Dominatio, sweetly comforting him, though he seemed unaffected by his surroundings.

The Deatheaters gathered in the courtyard, and Hogwarts defenders came to oppose them. Nagini had come to the field, and another attack began. Tom stayed on the field, and Lily stayed to watch him. It wasn't until Tom went inside of the school, that she got worried. That was not how her vision played out, but she could not intervene yet. She stood there, worried. Should she go in and search for Harry? Should she stay there and wait to see what happens? Luckily for her, she sat and pondered the option for so long, that they were there in the courtyard again, facing one another. Tom screamed, as Neville appeared, chased by his prized snake. Nagini struck out at Neville and fell, her head cleaved from her body. Tom was now wounded, and ready to fall. Almost.

Lily looked on, watching Tom and Harry duel. This was now her time. Lily whispered gently, but it resounded in Tom's ears. "_You have never learned, Tom. You brought this upon yourself. Your downfall will be half of the story." _Tom and Harry looked around. _"You could not be immortal forever, Tom."_ Tom finally looked up, and saw Lily standing there, a bundle in her arms. _"Your horcruxes are gone, save for one. You Tom, will not survive the day as you are, but I will survive. I will go on, with, or without our son. Your final horcrux." _Tom yelled out angrily, blasting her with spells. Harry stepped back, dismayed at what he was seeing. Every spell that landed, was blocked by a crystalline shield over Lily and Dominatio.

Lily stepped to the edge, extending her arms, and slowly, the bundle fell from her arms. Tom lunged forward, but was caught up in his own robes. The blanket fell amid a pile of rubble, and fell down the other side out of sight from him. His mind was racing now, he could not see nor think straight, as he wildly cast the killing curse in any given direction. A flash of green bounced back at him, and all fell quiet. Nobody moved as they watched Lily approach Tom with full arms. She leaned down and disapparated with him in tow.

That was the end of a great wizard. Evil, yes, but great. Under the gray morning sky, by a rebounded curse, was he struck down. Ruined by the only woman he had ever come close to loving. By the woman who held now, his only heir. That day, Lily made two graves, as she buried both her love, and her child. There was no other way to destroy his soul from Dominatios, not magically anyways. She painfully made the move to destroy her child completely, so Tom would have no body to latch to.

That was the blackest day of her life, as they two were laid to rest in crystal coffins in a subterranean mausoleum. There, she could look upon them, but never touch them again. The rain came down on the coast, angry, bitter, cold. The house elves cried, for they too loved Dominatio. They understood why she did what she did. The small sacrifices that win the war. The things we give for self preservation.

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><p>Lily tried to move on. Dated other men, tried to establish relationships, but none of them were Tom Riddle. Five years after that day, Lily had twins. Two years after that, she had another set of twins. Though they lessened some of her pain, she still would have rather had Tom and Dominatio over her four current children. These children she had more to carry on the Caladonius bloodline, though she loved them nonetheless. They had a father figure in their lives, Severus Snape (saved by Hermione with his own complex potion.) It was mutually agreed that they were friends with benefits, that they would raise their children together, but they would not share a bed permanently.<p>

Every year, she made it a point to go back to her little vacation cottage on the cliff. She would go through her liquor cabinet, and stumble down to the gravesite. There she would sit, drink, sob and drink some more. Many nights she passed out there, disappointed to wake up in the morning, hoping that was the day she would finally rejoin her first family. Alas, she would wake up, let the world spin for a moment, and take another swig of firewhiskey. Severus would go to her many nights while she was passed out, and share a drink of firewhiskey. To remember the other Lillian in his life. It was this unspoken pain they shared.

Tom Riddles crystal charms became more of a curse as time wore on. She began to wonder if she had been forgotten. If Tom had meant to leave her to a fate so cruel. For all of her drinking, her body was still in prime condition. For all of her smoking, she never got short of breath. In fact, she had barely aged at all from the day she broke free of her prison. Severus drooped, wrinkled, and his once raven hair turned light gray, but she looked to be his young granddaughter, though she was by all rights older than he was. She watched her second lover grow old, and buried him. She buried all of her children, her grandchildren, and even her great grandchildren, while looking no older than twentyfive.

Some say she finally threw herself over the cliff, tired of being in her in her infinite existance. Others say she changes her identity every fifty years, and becomes someone new, in a new place, living a new life altogether. I believe, no matter where she is, you can guarentee she returns to the house on the cliff, tending to a sunken mausoleum, waiting for the end to come.


End file.
